The Switch of Fate
by USA Tiger
Summary: We all know how the story around the Ocarina of Time goes. But what would happen if it went a bit differntly from what we're use too. What would happen if two people's fates were switched
1. And so our story begins

Disclamier: The characters of The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time belong to Nintendo and the guy who made these characters, I'm just borrowing them for the time being.  
  
The Switch of Fate By: USA Tiger  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Link sat on the ground, looking up in a bored way as the Great Deku Tree rambled on about someone coming from a desert, whatever that was, before launching into the making of Hyrule. The young Kokiri stopped listening at this point. Truth be told, he had already heard of this legend form his best friend Saria. He used this time to go over what had happen that day in his mind. If he did happen to miss anything, he was sure Navi would tell him about it.  
  
The morning was normal enough, starting with the nightmares he had been having for several weeks now. It was always one of two but both had the same basic theme. Both started out the same, a large wooden bridge lowering from a stone wall before flashing to a woman riding on the back of a white horse with a child sitting in front of her. Some times it would be a blue eyed girl wearing a dress with a scared look on her face, and other times it would be a boy with ruby color eyes looking back with a concerned look on his face. After the horse rode off into the distance the scene would look back to the bridge where either a mean looking man with green skin, and a sneer on his face, sat on a black horse or it would be a bunch of different men riding horses riding after the first horse with the woman and the boy.  
  
That morning, in the throes of his nightmares, his new fairy partner Navi had came in, waking him up. At first he had been excited; he finally had a fairy partner making him not such an odd ball anymore. After a couple of hours, Link was ready to squash the annoying ball of blue light. Being greeted by his best friend Saria after ward, Link had set off to see the Great Deku Tree since Navi kept saying the tree wanted to see him. The look on Mido's face was enough to make up for the stubbornness the red headed Kokiri showed when he refused to let the blond through unless he had a sword and shield with him. It had taken Link an hour to find a sword, only finally finding it after Saria mentioned the Kokiri Sword that was hidden in the training ground. It took another half hour to find enough rupees to buy a shield. Most of the funds had come from Mido, not that the other boy knew that..... yet.  
  
Once again amused by the look on Mido's face when Link proudly showed off his new sword and shield, he was finally let through to the Great Deku Tree. This led to him going inside the said tree to save the giant Deku from the curse that was put on him. Which earned him a lot of bruises and cuts but he was proud that The Great Deku Tree asked him and not some other Kokiri, say like Mido, to take on this task. And Link was even more proud when he had killed Queen Gohma, ending the curse that was placed on the talking tree. Plus he had gotten a cool sling shot as well. Of course that excitement was cut short when the Deku Tree announced that he was dieing anyway and all Link's work had been in vain.  
  
Link was brought out of his musings when Navi hit him on the head, meaning that the Great Deku Tree was finished with his tale. Link stood, brushing off the dust on his tunic before looking up in the giant face of the Deku Tree.  
  
"Link, go now to Hyrule Castle. There, ye will surely meet the Princess of Destiny. Present this stone to the Princess. I have foreseen that she will understand everything." the Deku Tree said, his voice sounding weaker and weaker, as a green light appeared in front of him. The light flashed brightly before turning into the Spiritual Stone of the Forest, other wise known of the Kokiri Emerald, it floated down into Link's waiting hands; where from there the young Kokiri stashed it in a hidden pocket in his tunic. "You are courageous Link. Go...od...bye... Navi..."  
  
Link and Navi watched in horror as the Great Deku Tree slowly lost color, the once brown bark turned grey.  
  
"Let's go to the castle." Navi said after staring at the now dead Deku Tree for a few minutes. Link just turned and ran out of the clearing, Navi stayed behind a few more seconds. "Goodbye... Great Deku Tree." she said softly before flying off after her charge.  
  
"What happen!?!" Mido asked as soon as Link stepped back into the village, getting into the blonds face. The red head noted the sad drawn look on the other's face. "Did... did the Great Deku tree.... die?" Link could only turn his face to the ground. Horror and sadness crossed not only Mido's face, but the other Kokiri close by as well. They had all felt the life energy leave their protector, leaving them feeling empty.  
  
"How could you!" Mido screamed in outrage. "You killed him!"  
  
"No I didn't Mido, how or why would I?" Link hissed looking up at the other boy. But the red head didn't listen to the smaller kid's words.  
  
"I will NEVER forgive you." Mido hissed to back before he spun on his heel, running toward his home. The other Kokiri children looked over at Link, who was glaring after Mido before his gaze softened and turned to the others.  
  
"I didn't kill the Great Deku Tree, I tried to save him" he said before running off himself toward the entrance of the village that led to the outside world. As he neared it, Link slowed down to a walk and eyed the hallow trunk that served as a tunnel. Did the Great Deku tree really want him to go outside of the forest? But wouldn't that mean his death, since any Kokiri would die if they left their forest. There was something fishy about this, but at the moment, Link couldn't really figure out what. "Navi..." he whimpered as he stood that the tunnel.  
  
"Come on Link, lets go!" the fairy said, bobbing in the air beside Link's head.  
  
"But Navi, the Kokiri can't leave the forest!" he said, looking up at his fairy partner. "I'll die if I go out there." terror was beginning to fill Link at the though of leaving his safe home. Fighting some minor monsters in the talking tree was one thing, going to certain death was quite another.  
  
"Link, we have to full fill the Deku Tree's request." Navi said, understanding the boy's fear. But she had to do what her once leader said. "He knew what he was doing when he gave you this quest, I'm sure that you won't die when we leave the forest. Now let's go!" the last bit was said a bit forcefully, setting Link into motion as he stepped into the tunnel, still scared about all of this. On the other side was the bridge that connected the Kokiri Forest with the outside world. Link ran across, wanting to get this part over with as soon as possible.  
  
"You're leaving, aren't you." Saria's voice asked behind him, stopping Link into a dead halt at hearing it. The blond turned around to face his best friend. The girl had a sad look on her face as she continued. "I knew that this day would come. You're different from me and the rest."  
  
"Saria..." Link said softly, walking closer to the green haired child. The strange feeling that something was wrong with this picture filled Link again. Saria knew something that he didn't, but what was it?  
  
"But that's ok. We'll always be friends, won't we?" Saria asked looking up at her best friend. Something was clutched close to the girl's chest, her grip tightening on it a bit. Link just nodded, his throat a bit closed up from the feelings inside of him. Saria smiled before handing Link the object she was holding, which turned out to be a small green ocarina. "Good bye Link." tears finally started running down the girls face as she pecked a quick kiss to the boy's cheek and turned to run back to the village.  
  
"Bye Saria." Link said as he reached up to touch his cheek. He had a feeling this was the last he was going to see of his friend for a while. Finally, Link turned back toward the tunnel leading out into the world outside, taking a shuttering breath as he walked into it, still scared at what would happen when he walked out.  
  
Link had his eyes closed as he stepped out of the tunnel, just waiting to drop dead from being outside of the forest. After nothing happened for several minutes, he slowly opens his eyes, relieved that he was still living. He looked at his surroundings, noting that while he was out of the Kokiri Forest and the Lost Woods, he was still at the edge of the woods that lead to a large field.  
  
'Maybe I'm still alive because I'm still in the trees.' he thought to himself as he slowly walked to the very edge, not really wanting to step out because he wasn't sure if he would live or not. Taking a deep breath, the 10 year old walked out of the tree line and out onto the grassy plains of Hyrule Field. He released his breath when he noted that yes, he was still living. The feeling was starting to creep up again; there was something wrong with this. He shouldn't be able to live outside of the forest since he was a Kokiri but here he was, standing in this large field alive and well. Link bit his lip as he thought that something was wrong with this.  
  
"Hey, let's go to the castle!" Navi yelled into the young elf's ear, bringing him out of his thoughts.  
  
"All right all right, no need to yell in my ear." he muttered as he rubbed his aching ear. He headed out over the field, wondering what adventures waited him now.  
  
"I hate this" Link muttered as he huddled on the branch of a tree in the middle of Hyrule Field. "I'm hungry, I want something to drink, I'm cold, and I'm tired. Plus we got chased up this tree by those Skeletons." he rubbed his arms trying to warm himself up.  
  
"Well you should have thought to bring something to eat and drink before we left." Navi commented form her perch from above Link. The boy glared up at the fairy, trying to burn her little body with the power of his stare.  
  
"You should have said something! I've never been outside of the forest before, how was I supposed to know I'd need to pack a bunch of stuff." The young elf yelled, his teeth chattering a bit. "Plus you were pushing me to leave right then, so I didn't even get a chance to even think about it." Navi had the good graces to blush. The boy was right, it was her job to make sure the young hero stayed alive but she had been more concerned about the mission giving to her by the Deku Tree.  
  
"Well what about those Skeletons? You let them chase you up here." She said, trying to make it seem that it wasn't all her fault.  
  
"I don't know if you noticed but every time I killed one of those things, another one would pop up. I really don't want to stay up all night fighting those things. And sleeping on the ground is just asking for something bad to happen." Link deadpanned, looking at his partner in disbelief. "I don't want to talk about it anymore Navi." he said as he settled himself on his tree branch, slowly going to sleep.  
  
As Link woke up, he noted several things different from when he sent to sleep. For one he wasn't laying on a narrow tree branch, instead he was laying on some flat that was rocking side to side lightly and was moving if the passing trees were anything to go by. Blue eyes blinked in confusion as Link sat up, taking in his surroundings. He was sitting in some kind of cart that was filled with stuff, an elderly man sitting in the front.  
  
"I see ye be awake child." the man said, not turning back to look at Link as he did.  
  
"Uh, how...?" the young blond said, confused to how he gone from sleeping in the tree to where he was now.  
  
"I came across ye tree early this morning. I tired to wake ye, but ye just continued to sleep so I just put ye in the back of me cart." The man explained, patting the seat next to him for Link to sit in. The Kokiri climbed up front looking up at the man. He had graying hair and a few wrinkles but other wise he wasn't that old as of yet. He also had a scar running over one eye but there was no damage to the eye itself. "Tell me child, what were ye doing in that tree. What ye were even doing out in the field at night, there be dangerous things out here."  
  
"I know," Link said softly as he watched the scenery go by, "I went up the tree to get away from some Skeletons. I didn't know about them till last night."  
  
"Ye never be out of the forest before." The man put in. Link just nodded before what he said caught up with him.  
  
"Wait, how did you know I'm from the forest?" he asked, looked up at the man.  
  
"Ye wear the clothing of one of the forest children." The old man said nodding toward the green tunic the Kokiri was wearing.  
  
"Oh," Link pulled lightly at the edge of his tunic before he remembered Navi, "Did you see a fairy in the tree too?"  
  
"Ye mean that annoying ball of light?" the man grunted, turning around to reach into the back and pulled out a bottle. Inside was a miffed Navi who was glaring up at the man. "She wouldn't keep quite so I put ye fairy in this bottle," he handed it to Link who decided to keep Navi in the bottle until they were closer to the castle, "Ye can keep the bottle boy."  
  
"Thank you." Link said as he set the bottle next to him. Inside Navi shook her fist and yelled at her charge but no sound came through the glass.  
  
"So where are ye heading child?" The man asked as he flicked the reigns of the horse pulling the cart.  
  
"To some castle, but I don't know where it is." Link said as he looked at the passing scenery again. He blushed as his stomach rumbled. The old man just laughed lightly, reaching behind him to pull out a small loaf of bread.  
  
"Eat up child. Me wife made that just yesterday so it is still be good," he said as he handed the blond child the bread. Link smiled gratefully before hungrily ripping into it, making sure to leave a small piece behind for Navi. "And ye be lucky child. I be heading to Hyrule Castle Town and it be the only castle around in these parts."  
  
"Does it have a princess in it?" Link asked, hoping that was where he would find the girl the Great Deku Tree told him to find so he could get this quest over and go back to the forest.  
  
"Aye child."  
  
;; someone review, please? 


	2. Getting to Hyrule Castle Town

The Switch of Fate By: USA Tiger  
  
Disclamier: The characters of The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time belong to Nintendo and the guy who made these characters, I'm just borrowing them for the time being.  
  
AN: Ok, time to clear up a few things I forgot to mention in the last chapter.  
1: This is an AU fic. As such a few things will be changed and a bit of OOC for some charaters.  
2: There will be a bit of yaoi in this but it's not the main focus and for those of you who don't like this kind of stuff I will mark off where it starts so you can skip over the few times it will show up.  
3: Ok, Link is not a Kokiri, he's a Hylian, they say so in the game. And it's a fanfic, I can call him an elf if I want to.  
4: As a AU, Zelda and Sheik are two differnt people here.  
And thankies to my reviewers.  
  
Chapter 2  
  
" I can't believe you left me in that horrid bottle." Navi muttered as she fluttered next to Link's head as the child looked around Hyrule Castle Town with a look of awe on his face. He and the old man had go separate ways as soon as they got to the main square. The Kokiri had never seen anything like the city having been raised in a very simple forest village. It was also he noted, very noisy which was starting to give him a minor headache not being use to it.  
  
" So where's this castle?" Link asked, still looking at all the people in the square. He wanted to explore this place before having to get back on task a bit. Who knows if he would ever be coming back here.  
  
" I think it's that big white building in the distance there." Navi said, not really sure herself. " But lets check around to make sure first." the fairy had caught the look of longing the 10 year old was giving as he looked around and decided to let her charge have a free run around a bit. Link flashed Navi a grin before he dashed off. The ball of blue light gave off a squeak of surprise before she chased off after the other.  
  
Link spotted a red headed girl about his age standing in the middle of the square. The girl just stood there, seeming to hmm a song as she looked toward the castle looking like she was waiting on something. The blond walked up behind the girl, reaching up to lightly touch her shoulder.  
  
" Erm? Oh!" Dark blue eyes widen as she took in the boy standing before her. Violet blue eyes looked back with curiosity as Link tilted his head to the side.  
  
" What are you doing?" Link asked, starting to wonder if children out of the forest were any different.  
  
" Waiting" The girl started to circle other child. " Ooh! You're a fairy boy from the forest!" she said spotting Navi fluttering over his shoulder. She had heard only forest children traveled around with fairies.  
  
" Umm, yes" he said as he watched the girl giggles and briefly stand on her toes. He was starting to think children out side of the forest weren't that different from the Kokiri.  
  
" I'm Malon, my dad owns Lon Lon Ranch." she said with another giggle at the confused look on Link's face.  
  
" What's a ranch?" the blond asked, never having heard of such a thing.  
  
" Oh, it's a big place with lots of horses." Malon held her arms out to the sides trying to show how big her home was. " We have cows to, Lon Lon Ranch is famous for it's milk. And my dad likes to raise cuccos. Their a lot like chickens." she quickly added at the questioning look on the boy's face.  
  
"Why are you standing out there." Link asked looking up at the castle again.  
  
" Oh, I'm just waiting here for my dad, he's delivering milk at the castle." The red head said, looking up at the castle longingly. " I wish I could live in the castle. Princess Zelda must have such a great life." Malon started to slip into a fantasy world, forgetting about the strange fairy boy she had just met. Link raised an eyebrow at the strange girl before looking up at Navi and shrugging his shoulders. He stood there for another moment or two, waiting to see if the girl would say anything else but Malon seemed to be totally into her fantasy. So with another shrug in Navi's direction, the boy turned and left the other child behind to continue exploring the beautiful city.  
  
No less than 10 minutes later, Link was standing a few feet away from one of the many stands in the square, eyeing what the woman behind it was selling. Unlike most of the other selling stands scattered around, this one wasn't crowed by a big group of people. In fact most of the costumers were children and teens buying the woman's chocolate filled sweet cakes.  
  
" 'Ello there." the woman said with a smile as she spotted Link who was still eyeing the, to him, strange looking treats. " Would you like a sweet cake? They only 5 rupees each." the boy inched closer to the stand, the cakes sweet scent wafting up his nose. His stomach growled in response, having had nothing but the piece of bread from earlier than morning. Blushing, Link reached into his money pouch drawing out a small sapphire stone that served as currency in Hyrule. The woman gave another pleasant smile as she handed Link the cake and took the rupee. Link gave a small smile back before rushing off with his cake to find a place to sit and enjoy it.  
  
"So Navi, just how am I going into the castle?" Link said as he licked off the chocolate off his fingers. The sweet cake was a real treat for the boy and he wondered if he should get another when he left the city for Saria. He had many things to tell his best friend about the world out side of the forest.  
  
"Walk up to the front door and ask to see the princess?" Navi suggested from her spot next to Link where she was also licking off the bit of chocolate from her own hand since Link was nice enough to give his partner a bit of his sweet cake. Since she wasn't flying around, her blue light had died down enough to be able to fully see her. She was wearing a little dress that seemed to be made out of leaves and her long blue hair was pulled up in a high pony tail. Every now and then her wings would flutter behind her. " And if that doesn't work, sneak in."  
  
"Sneak in?" Link asked, looking down at the fairy besides him. The very thought made an uneasy feeling settle into the boy stomach. He had grown up in a very open community, it wasn't unusual for one Kokiri to just enter another's house and there was no reason to sneak in anywhere. " I.. I don't think that's such a good idea Navi."  
  
" We really don't have a choice." the fairy said as she leaned back on her hands. " We have to see Princess Zelda anyway we can." Link frowned as he looked up at the almost church like building in front of him and his fairy partner. He still didn't like the idea at all. The uneasy feeling wouldn't go away, but Navi was right, he had to complete the Great Deku Tree's last request.  
  
" I still don't like it" he muttered as he stood from the ground, brushing the dust off his green tunic. Navi sighed as she flew up off the ground as well, her blue light surrounding her again. The elf and fairy headed back to the square, finally time to tackle the castle. The Kokiri looked up at the castle, the uneasy feeling not disappearing. Not only did he have an uneasy feeling, but the boy was scared even. He never had to sneak in anywhere and he really didn't want to start either. Who knew what would happen if they were caught. He shook himself out of his thoughts then steeled himself for this next adventure. " I hope I don't regret this."  
  
" Cheer up, maybe they'll just let us and you won't have to sneak in." Navi commented, trying to cheer up her charge.  
  
" Well that didn't work." Link muttered as he looked around the corner of the earth wall that surrounded either side of the road that lead up to the castle. Hyrule Castle itself was beautiful, and when Link had gotten his first good look at it he had once again been in awe. The feeling had temporarily overpowered the uneasy feeling. There was a gate right in the middle of the road with a single guard in front of it. The Kokiri had asked if he could see Princess Zelda, but the guard just laughed good naturally and turned the child away. So now here Link was, being forced to sneak into the castle.  
  
"I guess we have to sneak in now." Navi said from where she was hovering over the boy's shoulder.  
  
"Just how are we going to do that? There are two high walls on either sides of us and that gate is the only way in." Link commented as he looked up at the fairy.  
  
" Umm, well..." she looked around, at a loss of how to answer that. An idea popped into her head as she spotted a single vine climbing up the wall a few feet from the pair. " What about this? I think you can climb up it." The ball of blue light quickly flew over to where the vine was, Link following slowing after her. The young elf looked up at the vine with a doubtful look.  
  
" You must be kidding." he deadpanned, turning his stare back to Navi. " I can't climb up that."  
  
" Sure you can, your light enough." Navi assured Link with a little bounce in the air. " Come on, the sooner we sneak in, the sooner we can speak to the princess." She added, trying to get her charge moving. Link sighed but put his hand around the vine, giving it a tug to see if it stayed then slowly climbed up it, not fully trusting it. Once he reached up the top, Link gave a look around. The view was breath taking and if Link wasn't slightly shaking in fear from all of this, he would have enjoyed the view more. He quickly ran over to the top of the gate, climbing down the latter on the inside of the gate.  
  
The boy slowly opened the door, peeking out to peer at the guard at the other side of the gate. His back was still turned from Link, facing outward. Link slipped out of the door, quickly sprinting up the road toward the castle. The young elf hissed as he saw two guards standing at a bend of the road. Link's heart beat rapidly as he looked around trying to figure out where to go next before the two guards spotted the boy and fairy.  
  
Luckily the ground walls that boxed the path inclined to a hill here, allowing Link to climb on top of the hill to get past those two guards. So far the pair manage to get across the front grounds in front of the castle without being spotted, managing to get pretty close to the large palace. But their luck didn't hold out as one of the guards in front of the second gate right in front of the draw bridge stopped the young boy and the ball of light.  
  
"Hey you! Stop!" This caught the attention of a handful of other guards. Link froze, not knowing what to do know. He tried to bolt back the way he came, one of the guard's catching the scared boy by the arm. Pain shoot through his arm as it was twisted behind his back.  
  
"Well what do we have here, a little thief trying to steal from the castle?" A deep voice guard asked as he leered down at the captured boy. Link whimpered, trying to get his arm lose from the hold the guard on him. Real fear was starting build up in him as the guard kept a firm hold on the Kokiri's arm.  
  
"Throw him in the dungeons of course, that's where all thief's belong." The man holding onto Link said.  
  
"I'm not a thief." Link said, trying harder to get out of hold. He twisted to where his arm wasn't behind him, tears starting to trail down his pale cheeks. Navi was fluttering up in the man's face, also trying to get Link free. The man swatted the fairy away.  
  
"Quite boy." another guard growled, hitting Link across the face. " I say we have fun with him first." He gave a lustful sneer as he grabbed Link's face. " He has such a pretty face." Two of the other guards shared a sneer as well. Link's violet blue eyes widen, not liking the sound of that. He bit down on the hand on his face then kicked the guard holding on to him hard in the shin.  
  
"ARGE! The little fuck kicked me." The second man yelled, lunching to grab onto Link again, but the boy dodged and ran as fast as his short legs could carry him. Adrenalin pumped through his veins as he ran away. The guards yelled, starting to throw their spears in an attempt to stop the scared 10 year old. One of the spears manage to knick Link's leg. He gave a whimper of pain but continued to run. A couple of the guards ran after chased after him, trying to catch the boy.  
  
" Somebody help." Link whimpered, truly and fully scared out of his mind. Behind him the guard's continued yelling as he ran.  
  
Not too far away, laying in on one of the many white castle walls basking in the sun was a red headed man in this mid 20's. His hair was crimson red, almost to his shoulders, and skin was beautifully tanned, as it should be for the desert king Ganondorf Dragmire. The master thief pillowed his head on one arm while the other arm rested on his bare stomach. There was nothing better the red head like to do than rest in the sun, when he wasn't in a fight or stealing that was. He had to find a way to relax since he was still waiting to talk to the king of Hyrule, Ganondorf and his warriors had been at the castle for over a day already and the man still refused to see the desert king.  
  
Golden eyes slid open as the sounds of yelling reached up to where he was laying, catching Ganondorf's attention.  
  
" What in the name of Din..." he sat up, looking toward the front grounds. He noted that the guards seemed to be surrounding something. He lazily got to his feet before jumping from one wall to another till he was standing on the outer wall, looking down. The thief narrowed his eyes, trying to catch a glimpse of what was in the middle of the guards, cursing when the thing, which turned out to be a young Hylain boy, at least he assumed it was but the fairy pointed more toward one of the forest children. " By the triad, does Hyrule's king let his guard's men rape his land's children?" Ganondorf muttered as jumped to the ground.  
  
Quickly and quietly, Ganondorf rushed to where the child was. He was impressed that the boy had been able to get away from the lustful guards, speaking much of un tapped power. The sword and shield strapped to his back spoke that he could be a warrior, a great one at that. And Ganondorf could see all this, you learn to spot the signs after growing up in a desert tribe full of fighters.  
  
"Somebody help" the boy whimpered, the red head's shape ears just catching it. The boy leg was bleeding heavily after being sliced open by a random spear and a bruise starting to show on the upper right arm. Ganondorf took at as his queue to rush forward and grab the boy up just before another spear thrown by the idiot guards could hit the scared boy in the back. The small blond boy let out a scared whimper, afraid of what Ganondorf might do to him.  
  
Link had been close to the edge of the small drop that lead down to the road, gasping as he was grabbed up into a pair of strong arms. The Kokiri was afraid that one of those men had caught him. He let out a whimper of fear, clutching shut blue eyes, Link waited for something bad to happen.  
  
" Lord Dragmire, thank you for capturing the thief." The guard that had first grabbed Link said with faults politeness. Mistrust underlined the man's words since no Hylain or Hyrulain trusted one of the Gerudo much less their king.  
  
" You fools." Ganondorf's hold on Link tightened slightly as he snarled at the small group of guards. "is this how you treat children here?" Link opened his eyes at these words, seeming to start to understand that maybe this man holding him didn't mean to harm him. He looked up at Ganondorf taking in his tan skin, crimson red hair and gold eyes. What shocked the small elf was that the man's ears were round instead of slender and pointed.  
  
'What race is he of I wonder.' Link thought to himself as he lightly grab the front of the Ganondorf's open vest. Navi rushed toward, settling on top of her charges hat, glaring at the castle guards.  
  
"He is a thief, we were only doing what we thought was best." The same guard as before said. The other three nodded in agreement.  
  
" 'What we thought was best'" Ganondorf mocked with a sneer. "I won't allow to you have this child. Go find something else to take your sick fantasies out on." then he walked off toward Hyrule Castle Town, Link still clutched in his arms.  
  
"Damn thieves." The deep voice guards said, glaring at the Gerudo's back. The tanned man stiffed, turning back to return the glare at the man that had spoken.  
  
"I may be a thief but I have sense, self honor and even high respect for children. Even Gerudos know right from wrong, unlike Hyrulians it seems. You four should be ashamed of yourselves for even thinking of doing something as vile as rape to anyone."  
  
"I'm sure your kind does it all the time." The guard that seemed to be the leader of this group said, the other three nodded their agreement.  
  
"Don't drag my people down to your level." Ganondorf said with a sneer. Link watched the exchange between his savior and the scary guards, still grasping at Ganondorf's vest. His leg was really starting to ache as the blood continued to seep from the deep cut. "Have no doubt that you king will hear about how his people are." Ganondorf added as he continued his way to the town below the castle. Two of the guards snarled as they lunged to attack the desert king and take Link back form him. But they had to halt in their attack since there were three Gerudo female guards holding their weapons at their throats.  
  
Ganondorf stepped into the square of Hyrule Castle Town, ignoring the stares the people that were still there was giving the Gerudo upon seeing him carry a 10 year old boy in his arms. Many of them noted the tear steaks on Link's cheeks, the bruise that was really beginning to show on his arm and the bloody gash on his leg. Many of the elfish people thought the Gerudo king was responsible for the Kokiri's state, while others guessed that the guards up at the castle were the culprits knowing how their King's men was at times.  
  
Link looked up at the strange man that saved him, wondering again what race he came from. The boy had never seen skin that dark before, and the man's hair was a darker red that Mido's or any of the other red headed Kokiri in the forest. The gold color eyes were strange to Link as well. Navi also studied Ganondorf, a bit wary unlike her charge. She realized that the red headed man that was caring the young elf in his arms toward the local inn hailed from the desert lands, which was where the two witches that cursed the Great Deku Tree was from.  
  
"Excuse me" Ganondorf looked down at the boy in his arms, raising an eyebrow in question. A light blush stained Link's cheeks but he really wanted to know who the man was that was carrying him around. "Who are you?" The Gerudo king chuckled a bit, shifting Link in his arms to where he could open the door to the inn.  
  
"That can be saved for later." He said lowly before looking up at the elf maid behind the counter. "I need one of your rooms for now." he said, not telling her why he needed a room. The girl, not wanting to make the well known king of thieves mad, quickly let out a 'yes sir' as she hurriedly handed him a room key. As he passed the counter on his way back to the rooms, a couple of ruby rupees appeared on the wooden surface, paying for not only the room but for a meal later.  
  
Ganondorf managed to unlock and open the door with one hand, stepping in and kicking the door closed behind him. He placed Link on the bed and filled the bowl on the dresser with water before wetting the rag that was sitting next to the bowl. Then he knelt down in front of Link, starting to clean the cut on his leg.  
  
"I believe you asked me my name child." He said softly, causing Link to look up from his watching the grown man clean him up. The smaller blond nodded, wondering what he should think of this man. " It's Ganondorf." the desert king watched Link, waiting to see what reactions he would have to his name but the forest child just filed it away.  
  
"I'm Link, and this is my fairy partner Navi!" the boy pointed happily toward Navi, who was watching the interactions between elfish boy and the Gerudo.  
  
"Then I suppose your one of the forest children, the Kokiri." Ganondorf said as he took out a curved dagger to cut part of the sheets off the bed into make shift bandages. He has his doubts that Link was really a Kokiri despite the fact that he wore Kokirish clothing and was in the company of a fairy. Even his people knew that the forest race was bound to the magic that seeped in the forest and to leave with out the proper spells would mean certain death and the child before him had none of those spells on him from what Ganondorf's magical senses could tell him. Meaning the child was a Hylian, not a Kokiri.  
  
Link winced as the bandage around his leg was pulled a little too tightly. "Thank you for helping Me." he said softly, looking down at his lap. Another light blush stained his cheeks; he wasn't used to this kind of attention, not even from Saria. Ganondorf made a somewhat pleased purring noise in the back of his throat, finishing tying off the bandage around Link's leg. There was nothing he could do for the hand shape bruise on the child's arm, having never learned a healing spell in his study of magic, otherwise he would have healed the cut on the boy's leg.  
  
"Stay here, I will get you a meal." Ganondorf said as he stood, heading to the door. Link's violet blue eyes watched the man walk out the door then turned to Navi with a small grin.  
  
"I like him." he said with laugh. To him, Ganondorf was truly something neat, there was nothing like him in the forest and the small elf couldn't wait to tell Saria about him.  
  
"I don't think you should trust him so easily." Navi said, flying up in front of Link's face. Link frowned at the fairy, not liking the tone of her voice.  
  
"Why not, he saved me from those people at the castle, which by the way was in a way your fault that happen anyway." He said, glaring at Navi. The fairy made a miffed noise at the words.  
  
"How was it my fault?!" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.  
  
"Because you told me to sneak in there. I didn't even want to do it." the blond said, not letting up on his glare. He really didn't like Navi, she was become really bossy and naggy and Link really hoped that once they finish this adventure, he never has to see her again. Even if it made him an outcast again.  
  
"We have to talk to the princess so it's not like we had any choice but to sneak in since the guards won't let us just walk in." Navi countered, flying closer to Link's face and pointed a small finger at his nose. "Which means we're going to have to go back"  
  
"What!?!" Link barked, eyes widened. "I can't go back there; didn't you see what happened last time we tried to get into that castle?" He pointed to the bandaged leg to stress his point.  
  
"I repeat, we have to talk to the princess." Navi stressed back, putting her hands on her hips. Before Link could continue to argue with Navi on this subject, the door opened again with Ganondorf holding a tray with a bowl full of stew.  
  
"Here." The red head said, setting the tray in Link's lap, swatting Navi out of the way, the fairy making an outraged noise.  
  
"What is it?" Link asked, looking questionably at the meat filled stew.  
  
"Stew, it's good." Ganondorf said as he lounged himself on one of the chairs next to the table. "Have you never had something like that before?" The boy on the bed shook his head. The Kokiri diet was made of mostly nuts, berries, mushrooms, and veggies. Sometimes they would have meat every now and then that was fish or rabbits and small birds that had been caught in snares set in the forest and Lost Woods. But Link had never seen anything like the meal in his lap, nor had he been giving so much meat in one sitting. He took the spoon; bring a bit of stew to his mouth tasting it.  
  
Link's eyes lit up before he started to dig in with vigor. The stew was strange to him but it wasn't bad. But he was careful to avoid most of the meat; it didn't taste the same as his usual meat.  
  
"What are you?" he asked after a few minutes, tilting his head to the side as he looked at Ganondorf. The Gerudo gave an amused smirk, he was starting to like the blond and he was starting to wonder if he should bring the boy back with him to the desert. Link was refreshing from the girls in the tribe plus the Kokiri had the potential to be a great warrior. Ganondorf thought he might just fit in with the band of thieves with the right teaching.  
  
"A Gerudo." he answered, still greatly amused by the curiosity that showed in the other's eyes. Link hummed lightly going back to his stew. Ganondorf leaned forward, watching the blond closely. Link looked up, blinking blue eyes at the tanned man.  
  
"What?" the elf asked confused. Ganondorf shook his head lightly getting up from the chair.  
  
"Nothing." he said, stretching lazily. Link continued to look confused, looking a bit like a lost kitten. Ganondorf couldn't help but laugh lightly and kiss the boy lightly on the forehead. "You're too cute. This room is yours to use till tomorrow kitten." Link gave a surprise look, not use what to make of man's actions, or the nickname either. But it was a lot better than say, 'Mr. No Fairy'.  
  
"Um, thanks." he said, still a bit out of it. Ganondorf gave a chuckle and headed toward the door.  
  
"Oh, and kitten?" Link looked up toward the Gerudo, a renewed questioning look in his eyes. "If you plan on sneaking into places, it's better to do it at night." then the thief king left out the door, leaving behind a shocked Navi and musing Link.  
  
Be kind and review /. 


	3. Cluck the Cucco and meeting the priness

A Switch of Fate By: USA Tiger 

Disclamier: The characters of The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time belong to Nintendo and the guy who made these characters, I'm just borrowing them for the time being.

Notes: Please remember when your reading this chapter that this is a AU fic. This is really where it begins to change from the orginal story line.

Chapter 3

'Ganondorf was right' Link thought to himself as he tiredly sat up against one of the Lon Lon Ranch milk crate sitting outside one of the doors that led into the castle. Navi sat on his knee, just as tired as her charge, but neither could fall asleep thanks to the loud snores that was coming from Talon, the owner of Lon Lon ranch and father to Malon. 'It is much easier to sneak into places at night.'

The Kokiri and fairy had left the inn around dusk, getting ready to once again to sneak into the castle, as much as Link didn't want to. Memories of what happened last time with the guards still ringed in his head and the blond had a feeling he was going to have nightmares of what happen for some nights to come. Once the pair had reached the walled path that led up to the castle, they had met up with the red head from earlier, Malon, who was standing there looking up the castle with a worried look. She had told them that she was still waiting on her father and had asked Link if he could look from him once she learned he was going up to the castle. In payment, she had given the boy a Cucco egg. Link still wasn't sure what he was going to do with the egg.

After ward, Link had once again climbed up the vine from before, this time keeping weary blue eyes on the look out for the guards. But to the boy's surprise and delight, not only was the guard from before gone and the ones that was there were either asleep on their feet or couldn't see Link steak across the grounds. Navi had hid herself inside the Kokiri's hat to keep her light from attracting the attention of the few guards that were still awake. After climbing up a small wall, Link was forced to swim in a moat full of very cold water to avoid being seen by the last two guards, who unlike the others that were standing around, these two were very alert and very awake.

Which led to where the blond was now, slightly shivering as the wind blew since his tunic was still wet, having to listen to Talon snore and not able to get to sleep himself because of all this.

"Oh wake up you big brute!" Navi yelled in Talon's ear, trying to wake up the Hyrulian. " Geez, he's harder to wake that you," the fairy said as she kicked the cubby man in the cheek. Talon snorted, reaching up to scratch at the spot, knocking Navi out of the way in the process, before resuming his snoring. Navi huffed, stomping her foot in mid-air in anger before flying over to where Link sat. The boy gave a tired amused smile as he watched before yawing again. And as he listens to the muttering fairy, he somehow falls into a fitful sleep.

* * *

Link jerk awake as the sound of a roster crowed in his slender ears. The boy slapped his hands over his ears to stop the ringing before looking around for what caused the noise. Blue eyes widened as he looked down at the young Cucco sitting in the remains of the egg Malon had given him, looking quite proud of itself at having waken it's owner.

"By Din, that thing is loud." Navi said, her own hands over her tiny ears. Her high pitched voice drew the attention of the Cucco, a glint appearing in it's eye as it thought 'breakfast!' The fairy epped and started to fly around in circles with the bird following her, clucking all the way. " Ahhhh! Link save me!"

Link started laughing lightly, highly amused by the site. He wished the bird would catch the annoying fairy and eat her, but he knew he couldn't let that happen... yet.

"Alright." he said, still chuckling as he picked up the Cucco. The bird clucked in annoyance at being denied it's breakfast before deciding that cuddling up against its owner was much better at the moment. Navi panted as she dropped to the ground, glad that was over with.

" I hate birds," she muttered as she got her breath back. The fairy threw an arm over her eyes, not quite ready to get up yet. Link smirked down at his partner, petting his Cucco lightly on the head. But he had to agree with one thing the other had said, the cucco had be pretty loud, enough to wake him right away. His eyes lit up as an idea popped into his head as he turned to look at the still snoring Talon. If the Cucoo could wake up Link, who was known to be a pretty heavy sleeper at times, maybe it could wake up the snoozing man. With that in mind, the Kokiri creped closer to Talon, holding out the young Cucco toward him. Seeming to pick up on its owner thoughts, the Cucco let out another loud crow, looking miffed when the man didn't even stir. Taking a deep breath, it let out another, this one loud enough to wake the dead.

" What in tar nation?" Talon yelled as he jumped up in surprise, stumbling a bit as he did. In Link's hands, the Cucco looked proud at having woken the heavy sleeping man. " Can't a person get any sleep around here?" Talon said with a yawn as he stretched his arms over his head.

" Excuse me?" Link said softly, trying to get the man's attention. Talon looked down at the ten year old and let off a gentle smile.

" Well now. Who might you be?" the rancher asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

" Are you Talon?" Link asked, avoiding telling the man his name.

" Yep, that's me. Talon, owner of Lon Lon Ranch." Talon said. Pointing his thumb at himself proudly, not noticing at all that Link didn't give him his own name.

" Did you know Malon is looking for you?" The Kokiri asked as he placed the cucco on the ground. As soon as Navi noticed the bird was on the ground again, she gave a squeak as she shot up in the air to avoid the break descending on her.

" What!" Talon turned, starting to run toward the city. " I can't believe ah left her alone all night, she gonna be really mad at me!" Ah such, not only did Link, Navi and the Cucco get treated to the site of a chubby man running like the hounds of hell was on his heels, but so was the guards.

"Well that was strange." Link said, watching as the dust trail from Talon settled down. " Now what?" he asked as he looked up at Navi.

"Look for the princess of course." She said, still making sure to stay away from the Cucco, who was sitting at Link's feet looking up at the fairy with hunger. Her partner sighed before looking around for a way into the castle. Spotting a door now far away, Link ran to it, reaching up to tug at the knob, but the door refused to open.

" It's locked." The boy started after a moment, finally giving up on getting the door to open. Navi 'hummed' as she looked around for another way in. Not far away from where the milk crates where, on the other side of the moat, was an opening in the wall where a small waterfall of water fell over a small ledge. The fairy flew over to the opening and went threw it to see where the other end was. Seconds later, the blue ball of light shot out of the hole, flying over to Link, who was leaning against the locked door.

" That opening over there leads into the castle!" Navi said excitedly, bouncing in the air. Link looked over at the opening she was talking about then looked down at the freezing water below.

" I don't think I can get over this by jumping." he deadpanned after a moment. Navi huffed before flying over to the crates.

" Then push these over into the moat then jump off them" she said, hovering over the object.

"Your kidding right?"

* * *

"Did you hear about what happen yesterday?" Link froze; blue eyes darted around for the person speaking. He pried through the hedge in front of him, spotting the pair of guards on the other side. The boy stayed still, wondering how he was going to get around these two. So far he had been able to drat past the number of guards patrolling the grounds inside the castle. Navi's crazy idea of jumping into the ledge where the small tunnel was from the crates had worked, though he had missed the first couple of times, falling into the moat. Then he was almost too big to fit into the tunnel, but he how had manage to get through the opening. Following behind him was Cluck, the Cucco, who just flew over to the ledge it's self. Even now, the bird was behind him, making quite clucking noises. And somehow none of the guards has noticed the small bird. And luckily, they hadn't noticed the Kokiri or his fairy either.

" You mean about the kid?" On the other side of the hedge, the two guards continue to talk. The first guard nodded, leaning against his spear. " Yeah, poor guy. Mike and his lot are a bunch of brutes. Rox said the kid came up the gate yesterday wanting to see the princess."

" I can't believe they would really try to rape a little kid like that." The first guard shook his head in disbelief.

" I can." The second guard said. Anything else the two would have said was interrupted by the head of the guard.

" Back to work you two!" he barked, startling the two younger men.

" Yes sir!" they both saluted before starting to walk around again to guard the area. Seeing his chance, Link darted forward from behind the bush and ran as quick as he could to the other end of the mini maze, to the inner court yard where a girl in pink was looking through a little window to the inside.

" I think that's her." Navi said from her spot on over his shoulder. Link nodded, starting forward to finally speak with princess Zelda. Link's eyes widened a bit, this was the girl from one of his two nightmares. Neither boy nor fairy noticed the shadowed female sitting on the wall above them.

* * *

Link slowly walked up to the small raised dais where the girl was standing. The girl was so into what ever was going on the other side, she didn't once notice the Kokiri and fairy behind her until Link stepped up onto the stone steps. With a gasp, Zelda spun around, holding a hand up to her mouth.

"Who... who are you?" She asked, blinking very dark blue eyes at the site of the blond hair boy and the ball of light hovering above his shoulder. " And how did you get past the guards?"

" It wasn't easy." Navi said, deciding to answer for both her and her partner since it didn't seem Link was going to answer. Little did she know, Link was shivering lightly. A creepy feeling going over him as he stood near the princess. There was something wrong about her and it was weirding him out greatly. He was kicked out of his thoughts as Navi hit him lightly in the head.

" Is that... a fairy?" Zelda said, gazing up at Navi with excitement in her voice.

" Um, yes." The other child answer, shifting under the girl's eerie gaze.

" Then your a child of the forest!" a squeal of excitement came form the girl as she clapped her hands. " Then that means you have the spiritual stone of the forest, you know that green and shining stone." Link reached into his pocket on his tunic, taking out the Kokiri emerald to show the other before sticking it back in the pocket. Zelda giggled again, holding her clasped hands to her mouth. " Then you are the one from my dream!"

"What dream?" Link asked, tilting his head a bit. Zelda got a worried sad look on her face as she turned her back to them.

" I've been having dreams lately." She started, clasping her hands behind her back. "In the dream, Dark storm clouds were billowing over the land of Hyrule... But suddenly, a ray of light shot out of the forest, parted the clouds and lit up the ground... The light turned into a figure, holding a green and shining stone, followed by a fairy... I know this is a prophecy that someone would come from the forest... Yes, I thought you might be the one..." Zelda mussed as she turned back to Link who looked he was only halfway listening. The princess was a little miffed by that but she didn't let it stop her. She put a hand to her mouth then with an ashamed look on her face. " Oh, I sorry. I got carried away with my story and didn't even properly introduce myself!" She put her hand down. " I'm Zelda, Princess of Hyrule. What's your name?"

"... Link." the boy, who had been listening after all, said.

"Link... strange... it sounds somewhat... familiar..." Zelda mused, a far away look in her eyes. She was quite for a few seconds before she shook herself out of her thoughts. " Ok then! I'm going to tell you the secret of the Sacred Realm that has been passed by the Royal Family of Hyrule. Please keep this a secret from everyone!" she suddenly grasped Link's arm, giving him her version of the puppy dog eyes.

"Ok! I won't!" Link said, trying to shake the girl off his arm, a creepy feeling rushing up his spine as she touched him. Zelda didn't seem to notice Link's tone or actions as she let go.

"Ok, the legend goes like this..."

The three goddesses hid the Triforce containing the power of the gods somewhere in Hyrule, the power to grant the wish of the one who holds the Triforce in his hands. If someone with a righteous heart makes a wish, it will lead Hyrule to a golden age of prosperity. If someone with an evil mind has their wish granted, the world will be consumed by evil... That is what has been told... So, the ancient sages built the Temple of Time to protect the Triforce from evil ones.

"So... is this Temple of Time the entrance to the where the Triforce is?" Navi asked from her place hovering over Link's shoulder.

"Oh yes." Zelda agreed with a nod of her head. " The temple is the entrance of which you can enter the Sacred Realm. But it's sealed by a large stonewall call the Door of Time. The only way to open this door is to use all three Spiritual Stones and a treasure that has been kept by the Royal Family along with the legend, the Ocarina of Time!"

"What were you doing when we came up?" Link finally spoke up after being quite so long, he was curious why the girl had been looking through that little window and what had the princess's attention to the point that she hadn't heard them until Link was up on her.

"Oh! I guess I forgot to tell you. The other element from my dream, the dark clouds? I believe that symbolize" Zelda suddenly turned and pointed toward the little window that looked inside the throne room, " that man!" Since her back was turned, the girl didn't see the weird look Link was giving her. He wiped it off as quickly as Zelda turned back, a pleading look on her face. "Will you look through the window?"

"Oh... ok." Link agreed, stepping over to the window with Navi floating behind him. He leaned over slightly and looked inside. The room on the other side was large, with a large throne sitting at one edge with a large blond Hylain man sitting on it, a gold circlet on his head. The man looked a bit stern but still kind in a way. On either side of the king were a couple of guards, spears held up high. On the other end of the room, two large doors opened, two Gerudo guards walked in, splitting to either side and standing next to them. Following the girls was a figure Link recognize right away.

'Ganondorf!' he thought, his blue eyes widening. The bandit king was now dressed in light armor, his crimson red hair falling into his eyes.

"See that man, the one with the evil eyes?" Zelda asked from behind Link as inside, Ganondorf knelt in front of the king on the throne.

'Evil eyes?' Link thought to himself, he didn't agree. Determination that was more the look in the man's eyes, but Link didn't see anything evil. Of course that was just the Kokiri opinion.

"That's Ganondorf, the leader of the Gerudo." Zelda continued, not noticing the look of disagreement on Link's face. "They hail from the desert far to the west. Though he swears allegiance to my father, but I am sure he is not sincere. The dark clouds that covered Hyrule in my dream, they must symbolize that man!" As though he heard her, Ganondorf suddenly turned his head toward the window. Gold eyes pinned on Link's blue one, startling the boy and causing him to fall to the ground. "Did he see you?"

"Yeah" Link said as he stood from the ground, brushing the dirt off his tunic.

"Well don't worry, he doesn't know what we're planning, yet." Zelda said mysteriously, a small smirk on her face. A confused looked crossed Link's face, they had a plan? For what?

"Did you tell anyone about your visions?" Navi asked, flying a bit closer to Zelda. She had a bit of confusion herself, the princess was convinced that Ganondorf was evil, but yesterday the fairy had witnessed the man save her charge. But the Great Deku tree trusted the girl so she supposed she should too.

"Yes, I told my father about my dreams." Zelda said with a sigh, clasping her hands behind her back again. "But, he doesn't believe it was a prophecy. But, I can sense that man's evil intentions. What Ganondorf must be after is the Tri-force itself!"

"Then he must have come to Hyrule to obtain it!" Navi said, seeing where Zelda was going with this.

"And I believe he will try to conquer Hyrule... no, the world!" Zelda said, slamming her fist into her hand to push her point. "Link, we are the only ones that can protect Hyrule. Please, will you help?" She pleaded with the other blond, hands clasped under her chin as she leaned in close. Link still wasn't convinced Ganondorf was evil, or that he was after the all mighty Tri-force. And he had the very mind to tell the princess that, if Navi hadn't crashed into his head before he could say anything.

"Ok, we'll help." he said, though he didn't want to.

"Thank you." Zelda said with a grateful smile before it turned into a frown. " I... I am afraid. I have a feeling that man is going to destroy Hyrule. He has such terrifying power. But it's fortunate that you have come. We must not let Ganondorf get the Triforce! I will protect the Ocarina of Time with all my power! He shall not have it!" she vowed, a gleam in her eyes." You go find the other two Spiritual Stones! Let's get the Triforce before Ganondorf does, and then defeat him!" Zelda said before getting out a piece of paper from her dress pockets to write a letter. " One more thing. Take this letter. I'm sure it will be helpful to you." She handed the letter to Link, who slipped it into the same pocket as the first spiritual stone.

"How are we going to get out of here?" Navi asked, seeing that the meeting with the princess was over. Zelda shrugged, waving a hand toward the opening to the small courtyard.

"I guess you'll have to go the same way you came in.," she said, not having another way for them to go. So Link quickly walked toward the archway, wanting to get as far away from Zelda as he could to stop the creepy feeling he got around her. His cucco clucked, following behind him, Navi doing so as well, making sure to keep out of the reach of Cluck.

* * *

"Well that was helpful." Link deadpanned once they were out of earshot of the princess.

"A lot more than you know Link." Navi said, not liking the tone her charge was taking. "We now know what that man is up to!" The Kokiri glared at the fairy.

"I don't believe Ganondorf is evil. Just because that girl said so doesn't mean it's true" Link said as he peaked around the wall looking for the guards. "Plus she's just creepy, like something's wrong with her."

"You must be joking. Just because the men just happen to 'save' your life." Navi started, not believing her tiny pointed ears.

"Look, we can fight about this later, right now we need to get back out of this place." The boy said, cutting off whatever the bug was going to say.

"Maybe I can help with that!" a woman's voice said behind the both of them, a thump of something hitting the ground sounding. Link quickly spun around, facing a Gerudo woman. She was dressed different than the two female guards in the throne room, but didn't look any less weak. "You know that something bad could happen to ya if these idiot Hylain guards catch you a second time."

"I can guess." the boy deadpanned, and he could all to well. After all, those guards from yesterday would be out for revenge for being one upped like that. And it was easier to take anger out on a 10-year-old boy that it was on the desert king.

"Well, since Ganny seems to like you so much, I'll help you out." the woman said, grabbing up Link, who manage to grab his bird in time for it not to be left behind, before jumping to the higher walls of the castle. Just in time too, since a pair of guards rounded the corner at that moment. The female thief jumped and leaped out of the castle yards and into the town below, still keeping out of site of others by staying at the rooftops till she and her passenger reached the outer wall of Hyrule Castle Town. She landed softly in front for the drawbridge, letting Link down.

"Hey! pant pant wait for me pant pant" Navi panted as she tiredly flew up. Both the woman and Link ignored her.

"Thank, um..." The Kokiri realized the woman never once told him her name.

"I'm Nabooru, second of command to Ganondorf." The thief said with a smirk. " So kid, gonna get those Spiritual Stones. That's a mighty great treasure to get."

"Um... well I guess so." Link didn't really know if he wanted to go after those other stones, but he had promised that creepy girl he would. And even if he didn't like her, the Kokiri was never one to go back on his word.

"Well I suggest you start there." Nabooru turned Link and pointed toward a mountain in the distance with a ring of smoke surrounding the top. "That's Death Mountain."

"Death Mountain!" Link interrupted, giving the woman a strange look.

"Yes Death Mountain. I didn't name it so don't look at me like that." Nabooru said, having Link look back at the strangely named rock. " There the races called the Gorons have the Spiritual Stones of Fire. And further that way." she pointed toward a river going toward another part of the mountain range. " Is Zora River, where the Zora's live and they have the Spiritual Stones of water."

"So I have to go see them for the stones?" Link asked, looking form one place to the other.

"Yep and one more thing. At the foot of the mountain is a little village called Kakariko. I suggest you stop there and rest up. Your gonna need it." Nabooru suggested, walking back slowly from the child. "Well, good luck little warrior!" the red head said before leaping back to the top of the outer wall of Hyrule Castle Town and heading back the way she come.

"Well, we know were to go now." Navi said, finally having her breath back. "So lets go!"

"No, I wanna go see Saria first." Link said, starting to walk toward the direction Kokiri Forest was in.

"What! We don't have time to go back to the forest, we're on a mission!" The fairy said, hurrying after the boy. But Link ignored her, continuing his way.


	4. Epona and back in the forest

A Switch of Fate By: USA Tiger 

Disclamier: The characters of The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time belong to Nintendo and the guy who made these characters, I'm just borrowing them for the time being.

Chapter 4

Link was starting to think maybe he should have gone ahead to Kakariko Village. Not because he needed to continue this quest he had been forced on, but because it was a lot later than he thought it was. There was no way he was going to make it to the forest before sunset and he really didn't want to sleep in a tree again. At least the town had somewhat been close to the castle, he could have made it there before night fall. The Kokiri came to a stop, looking around for a place to stay for the night. While he was hopping for a cave or even another tree at this point, his purple tinted blue eyes spotted a walled in area that wasn't that far away!

"yes." he said quietly to himself. Cluck, who was safely tucked into the boy's tunic, clucked quietly, feathered head sticking out of the top. Navi was safely hiding in the stocking cap, the fairy had given up some time ago to make her charge change his mind about going back to the forest for a visit. This was the strange trio of travelers that came into Lon Lon ranch. A tune seemed to be drifting on wind along with the whine of horses. Link slowly walked to the center of the ranch, letting Cluck out of his tunic as the cucco wiggled, seeing other's of his kind. The blond looked around, looking for the source of the tune that was drifting about, spotting a red headed figure in the middle of the fenced off area.

"Hey!" Link called out, running toward the figure. The figure, which turned out to be Malon, the girl from Hyrule Castle Town, stopping her light singing. Her dark blue eyes lit up as she recognized the forest boy.

"Oh, your the fairy boy from town! Thank you for getting my father. He was such in a hurry to get back to me this morning" Malon giggled lightly, holding a hand up to her mouth. "It was quite funny. Oh I have to introduce you to my friend! This is Epona." The red head turned to a colt that was standing just behind her, which Link noticed for the first time. The colt made a high pitch whiney noise before taking off, nearly knocking Link over in the process. "Oh, I'm sorry, she doesn't like other people very much. You should see what she does to Mr. Ingo." the red head started to giggle again. Link just smiled softly as the girl rambled on.

"What was that song you were singing?" He asked, remembering the tune that had drifted on the breeze when he first came in.

"Oh that was a song my mother wrote, it's called Epona's song." A small pang of sadness rang through Malon as she remembered her mother. " It seemed to float on the breeze the day Epona was born so we named her after the song. In fact she seems to like the song that shares her name very much!" Malon hummed a few bars to prove her point, Epona coming closer to where the two children stood but still keeping her distance. Link watched the cinnamon color colt, taking out his ocarina and played a few notes on it. Epona snorted a bit, pawing at the ground with her hoof but didn't come any closer, seeming to watch Link with her dark eyes. "Oh what a cute little ocarina! Won't you play my song with me?"

Malon batted her blue eyes, wanting to hear her mother's song on the little green instrument. "Alright." was the answer she got, waiting a bit before realizing Link didn't know the whole song. the red head quickly song out the notes a few times, smiling as sweet notes of the ocarina mixed in within an few minutes. soon she stopped singing, listening to Link as the Kokiri played the tune, the boy never noticing that Malon had stopped nor that a certain colt was slowly trotting up behind him. Even Navi seemed to be entranced by the tune, half of her body sticking out of Link's stocking cap and head resting on her hand.

"Whoa!" Link startled as nose nudged him from behind, interrupting the flow of music. The small blond turned around, coming face to face with Epona as the small horse nudged him in the chest demanding to be petted.

"Oh how cute, Epona likes you know!" Malon clasped her hands together, giggling at the scene. Link smiled softly as he complied with the colt's wished, gently petting her nose.

"Malon! Time to come inside!" Talon called form the house, telling his daughter it was time to come in.

"Come on." Malon said, grabbing Link's hand and dragging the boy toward the ranch house. They passed the ranch hand Ingo who was heading toward the pasture to herd the horses and cuccos into the barn. Talon looked down as his daughter came running up, a familiar blond right behind her.

"Well now, yer the boy from this morning, right?" The large belly man said with a laugh. "I gotta thank you fer waking me up. Malon here was really mad but after a while she forgave me." Malon just giggled, she knew that she had her father wrapped around her little finger. "Go and wash yet hands fer dinner Malon."

"Yes Dad." the red head said before running to do as told.

"So what are you doing out in the middle of Hyrule Field so close to sunset." Talon asked, looking down once again at Link. " It's dangerous out there."

"I know. I was wondering if... um..." Link looked down at his boots and blushed, a bit shy to up and ask if he could stay the night at the ranch. After all, Talon might think it was rude.

"We want to stay here for the night, since there is nowhere else we can go." Navi finally piped up, coming out of her hiding spot in Link's cap. While Link may have been to shy to ask this favor, she wasn't.

"Well I don't mind if you stay a spell." Talon said, leading the Kokiri inside. He had the boy wash his hands as well while having an extra space set up for the blond to eat. After a quick dinner of fried cucoo, a few veggies and a helping of milk, both Malon and Link were ushered to bed. A small cot was set up near the fire for Link that night. It didn't take long for the new hero to fall asleep, after all he had a busy day and not much sleep the night before.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning, after a quick breakfast of eggs and milk, Link left the ranch with Navi and Cluck in tow with a promise to Malon that he would come back some day. Then it was just a quick walk to the forest, fighting a couple of Pea Hats on the way. In fact, it was a little bit after noon when he finally stepped back into the cool shadows of the forest. He smiled slightly, quickly running for the hidden tunnel that lead to the Kokiri Forest and across the bridge.

"Look, Link's back!" One of the blond Kokiri girls squealed in excited excitement of seeing their missing number. This caught the attention of the other's many of them running to see Link.

"What is it like outside the forest"  
"I bet he didn't really go"  
"Oh don't be silly of course he did, Link is the brave one unlike that bully Mido"  
"Did you see the 'castle"  
"What's that?" Link's eyes darted side to side as he was bombed with questions from his friends, grinning slightly at the last question.

"This is Cluck, he's a Cucco. A girl gave him to me" he said, taking his bird out of his tunic and placed it on the ground. The girls cooed at the cucco, reaching down to softly pet the new wonder. Cluck puffed his small chest feathers out, not at all minding the attention, causing the girls to giggle.

"What's the children outside the forest like?" One off the boys asked, curious about the cucco but not about to coo like the girls. Link shrugged his shoulders a bit.

"They seem like us some. They like to play and such. But they have grown ups looking after them. Feeding and cooking for them."

"Wow, they don't catch their own food? or cook it?" The girl with puffy pig tails asked, turning big blues eyes to Link. The young hero shook his head, the idea still a bit foreign to him as well. After all, as it was mentioned before, the Kokiri fished and trapped small animals for their meals and many of them had learned how to cook. The blond boy looked around, notice that there were a few missing. The 'Know-at-all' Brothers he wasn't surprised about, they rather keep themselves shut up in their little house than mingle with the others. And the shopkeeper of course, he rarely left his store. Mido he also wasn't surprised about, the red head most likely hoped he never come back. But the fact Saria wasn't there did surprise him.

"Where's Saria?" he asked, still looking around for the green hair girl.

"Oh! She left into the Lost Woods. left a message too for when you came back!" One of the girls said, quickly standing, her fairy being knocked off his perch on his charges shoulder. "She said would meet you in the 'secret' place." She said with a nod.

"Oh, thank you. Watch Cluck will you? I think he will come in useful here at his new home." Link said, turning to the small cliffs that lead up to the Lost Woods. The woods where a place very few Kokiri would brave, and then they didn't go very far in, too scared of getting lost. In fact, himself, Saria and the Kokiri girl with the puffy pigtails were the only ones that braved the woods to go far in, but she never gotten as far as the Sacred Forest Meadow. A place in the forest that was his and Saria's secret spot.

"Link, are you sure you should be going in there?" Navi asked, bobbing slightly in the air as she stared into the larger part of the forest.

"Of course, all the Kokiri go in here at some point or another." Link said with a small laugh, stepping in like there was nothing wrong. He quickly darts here and there, using certain trees as markers to make his way. It took some minutes to get where he was going, only stop now and then to say hello to the skull children there. But in the end, the Kokiri made it to the meadow, his fairy looking around it in a bit of a shock.

"I knew that this place existed somewhere in the forest, but no one has been able to find it." Navi admitted, following Link in a daze as he walked further in, going to the stairs in the back.

"Well me and Saria did, this is our secret place." The boy said, quite proud of that fact. Navi doubted he knew what was so special about this one meadow, after all none of the forest children were told, the Great Deku tree had never seen a reason for it. After all, why would they need to know of the Forest Temple? The fairy was knocked out of her thoughts as the sweet notes of a ocarina reached her small ears. Link had lead her to the courtyard of the temple while she was deep in her thoughts. She looked around, having been a long long time since she had last been here, to the point she hadn't remember where it had been with in the woods. It was no where near as grand as it had been all those years a go, with no one to take care of it, the forest had overtaken it, the steps that lead into the temple it self having crumbled to nothing. And sitting on a tree stump next to where they use to be sat Saria herself, playing a lively tune on an ocarina like she had given Link while her guardian fairy Dits lightly danced in the air. In fact now that she thought about it, the tune had been faintly carried on the wind since they had entered the woods.

"Saria..." Link called softly, getting his best friends attention. The lively tune died off, the green hair girl opening her eyes as she looked up at the other.

"Link!" She said in delight, jumping up to give her friend a quick hug. Link just grinned happily, moving to sit beside Saria on the stump. "What did you see outside the forest?" Link launched into what he had seen the last two days. Everything to the sweet cakes, which reminded Link that he had forgotten to get one for the elven girl, to the guards of the castle and Ganondorf. Saria was out raged about the adult elven race that ended up attacking and hurting her friend, even more so when Link unwound the make shift bandages on his leg to show the scabbed over cut on there. Enough to send Dits to the nearby fairy fountain to bring back a healer fairy. " Ooo, this makes me so mad. " Saria said, still fairly miffed about the wound on Link's leg.

"Well it was bad but Ganondorf saved me from worse damage, thank Farore." Link said, trying to ease the girl's rage. It worked a bit, though Saria still muttered under her breath that it shouldn't have happened in the first place.

"So was he really from the desert?" the forest girl asked, meaning Ganondorf, as Dits showed back up, followed but a reddish pink lighted healing fairy. The healing fairies were a bit bigger than the guardian ones and most tended to live in group at what was called a 'fairy fountain', which was in all sorts of places all over Hyrule. The fairy tutted as she looked over Link's leg before flying over it and using her magic to heal it up. When she was finish, a faint scar was all that was left on the boy's leg and she left with thanks ringing in her ears.

"Yes" Link said happily with a nod, describing the king's looks from the red hair and tanned skin to the strangely shaped ears. Saria soaked up the information, trying to imaging it in her mind. Then the blond went on to tell about the castle and Zelda, including his thoughts on her. And the fact Navi was convinced Ganondorf was evil despite the fact the man saved her charges life. Then he told of the Gerudo girl Nabooru and how she helped out of the castle. Lastly he told of Lon Lon Ranch, even playing the sweet tune Malon had taught him.

" I wonder what else is out there." Saria said with a sigh, resting her elbows on her legs before placing her chin in her hands. " Your going to have to go back out, aren't you? Will you tell me what else you see?" she added, turning her head to rest dark blue eyes on her best friend. Link nodded his head, agreeing to the simple request. Saria sighed again before leaning back on her hands, looking over the small meadow the pair had made their own. Navi and Dits was a few feet away, quietly talking to each other. " You know, there's something special about this meadow. I have a feeling it will be very important to us one day." Link looked at Saria for a moment before looking around himself. There was a certain amount of magic that surround their secret place, though sometimes Saria was more in tune to it than he was. Or maybe it was the ancient temple she was in tune with?

"Why do you say that?" he finally asked, turning his head to gaze at the Kokiri girl.

"It's just a feeling." Saria said before bouncing up and turning to face Link with a pleased grin on her face. " I finished my song!" she announced, taking out her ocarina and still grinning happily. " Play with me!" The lively tune that had been playing when Link and Navi had first come into the meadow started up again. The slightly deeper notes of Link's ocarina joined in after a few minutes, drawing in not only a few stray fairies but some Skull Children and Deku's as well, both of which stayed at the edge of the meadow, moving a bit to the beat.

After a bit, the music finally died off, both Kokiri laughing in delight as they both plopped down next to the stump, panting lightly.

"You got it!" Saria said, smiling happily. " When your out in the world, play that song to talk to me."

"Talk to you?" Link said, slightly confused. Saria just nodded her head.

"I put a bit of magic I learned from the Great Deku Tree into it. Play my song and we'll be able to talk to each other through it." she explained, looking up at the sky. "It's starting to get late, we should head back. You need some sleep before heading out again." the green hair Kokiri declared, grabbing Link's hand and running toward the stairs and to the Lost Woods, Navi and Dits rushing after them.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The village of the Kokiri was filled with the sound of music and laughter of children as the child like race played in the warm summer night. Link and Saria lead the way in the music with their ocarina's while a flute, a fiddle and drums joined them. A feast of fish, fruit and nuts lined a table and the air was so festive that even a sulking Mido had come out of his home. There was no reason for the feastivies, it had been a spur of the moment thing and each child there was enjoying it. Many also enjoyed Link's tales of the world outside of the forest, and those who lived there. At least an edited version of what Link told Saria anyway. Even Cluck the Cucco was enjoying himself, chasing after the fairies though they were smart enough to stay out of the bird's reach. In the back of the young hero's mind, Link thought to try and bring more cucco's to the forest. After all, the eggs could be healthy and good for the other's to eat. But as nights and parties go, it was time for the Kokiri to draw it to a close and under the watchful eyes of their guardian fairies headed into their homes.

The next morning, Navi woke up Link early, wanting to get to Kakariko Village and more importantly, Death Mountain. Amazingly, it was quite easy for the fairy to wake her charge, Link had already been in a fitful sleep. What happened at the castle had finally crept into his dreams like he thought they would. So it was only a quick wash for Link in the hot springs on the outer edge of the village before grabbing up a prepared bag of supplies, his sword and shield, the Kokiri Emerald and the ocarina before he bolted for the hidden tunnel. Also a quick good-by and a promise to keep in contact with Saria.

A couple of hours after ward, Link was in the Hyrule Field, the forest some distance behind him. Navi flew on the breeze behind her charge as the boy walked toward the mountains in the distance keeping quite since it seemed the boy was doing what he was suppose to do.

'Maybe we can get through this with out other detours.' she thought to herself, picking up the speed as Link pulled ahead.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Kakariko Village was in a small canyon at the foot of the mountains. It was originally a Sheikah Village, built by the shadow elves that served the royal family to allow them to live near the castle while the other lived in a village deep in the woods where their closest neighbors were the Dark Fairies, the Darklins (who both lived there with them) and the Kokiri. In fact, these four races , along with the Deku, Skull Children, and Fairies, were the only ones that could get thought the dangerous woods with out harm, since the 'Children' of Malius the God of Darkness and Farore the Goddess of Courage were allies.

Kakariko had been a hidden village for years until after the war that raged in Hyrule for many many years, when the current leader Impa, who use to be the personal guard of the queen of Hyrule, opened it for those people who's homes had been destroyed. Link looked up the set of stairs that lead up to the hide-a-way village, licking his lips a bit before climbing up. It had taken all morning and a bit of the after noon to make it this far with the Kokiri traveling constantly, stopping only once for lunch at mid-day.

" Finally, the next step in out quest." Navi said happily, thinking it would just be a straight line to Death Mountain and the Gorons and to the spiritual stone of Fire. How wrong she was, on many levels. As Link stepped pass the front gate of the village, smiling shyly at the guard at the gate but not getting to close since he was dressed like the guards at the castle. The guard just nodded his head and let Link on his way. Inside the village, Link looked around in awe. It was nowhere near as grand as Hyrule Castle Town but in a way, Kakariko was a lot nicer. More simple for sure and it made the blond elven child more comfortable since Kokiri Village was simple as well.

So far he could see a few houses scattered around with a few people milling about. An older man with a booming voice was standing under a single tree yelling out orders to four men that just ran about like cucco's with their heads cut off. Speaking of Cuccos, there seemed to be a few stray birds just milling around, like the one at his feet.

"Hiiiyaaa!" Link was knocked to his feet, both his body and the one that knocked into him rolling a few feet before coming to a stop. He had just about to pet the cucco before he was attacked and now he was laying on his back, some of the wind knocked out of him and another person laying on top of him. The boy groaned, leaning up on his elbows to see just who tumbled into him. The other child, who was another boy who looked the same age as Link with blond hair that was a shade of pure gold, most of his bangs starting to fall over one eye. The boy was bracing himself on his arms over Link, legs slightly intertwined. It was about that time the other looked up and ruby red eyes met violet blue.


	5. Meeting Sheik

A Switch of Fate By: USA Tiger 

Disclamier: The characters of The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time belong to Nintendo and the guy who made these characters, I'm just borrowing them for the time being.

Notes: Please remember when your reading this chapter that this is a AU fic. And yes there is a mention of the Minish from Minish Cap. Why? Cuase thier cute and apart of Hyrule X3.

Chapter 5

The two boy stared at each other in shock for several minutes, nether moving to get up until Navi cleared her throat. The red eye boy quickly scrabbled off the top of Link, bowing in front of the other boy with a red ting on his cheeks.

"I'm sorry, I did not mean to crash into you." he said in a quick apology as Link got up from the ground and brushed the dirt off his tunic.

"It's alright." Link said, causing the other boy to look up at him through his gold bangs, searching the Kokiri's face before straightening up with a grin.

"I am Sheik." he said, starting to walk around Link, the other boy turning his head to watch the other blond. " Of the Sheikah. You are a Kokiri, correct?"

"Yes... what are you doing?" Link turned, facing Sheik again.

"I have never seen a Kokiri before." Sheik responded, seemingly entranced by Link.

" That's good and all, but we really have to be going." Navi said, getting annoyed that they wasn't getting going up Death Mountain. Sheik looked up at the fairy, annoyed at the blue ball of light.

" Is that your fairy?" He asked, looking back to Link. The slightly young boy nodded, not looking happy at all at that fact. " Go away bug, you're not welcome here at the moment."

" Well I never! We have something to be doing and it doesn't involve an annoying little child like you." Navi said, putting her hands on her hips.

" I said leave bug, or I will put you in a bottle!" Sheik yelled, swinging at the out ranged fairy.

Alarmed, Link quickly grabbed the other boy's arm and pulled him back a bit.

"Whoa, calm down. Just ignore her, she'll shut up at some point." The Kokiri said, continuing to drag Sheik back from his fairy partner. Sheik glared at the fairy one final time before turning and walking off. Link, who was still holding onto Sheik arm, gave a surprised squawk as he dragged off with him. As soon as the two boys rounded the corner of the nearest building, Sheik wrapped an arm around Link's waist as he grabbed a Deku Nut out of the pouch on his belt before throwing it to the ground and teleporting the two of them to the roof of the house.

Blue eyes widened in shock as Link looked down at the ground from their perch, yelping in shock and surprise. Which was muffled since Sheik placed his free hand over Link's mouth, the other one still wrapped around the other blonds waist.

"Shh... You do not want your bug to find us just yet do you?" he whispered into Link's elven ear, keeping a ruby color eye on Navi below who was flying around looking for the boys. The fairy stopped in mid-air, turning this way and that before letting out a annoyed noise and choosing a random direction to look for them. Link turned his head to look at Sheik when the other boy released his mouth, a confused pout on his face.

"Why did you do that?" he asked, managing to slip from Sheik's grip to sit a foot or so away form the young Sheikah.

"Surely you wanted to get away from her." Sheik responded, moving to sit cross-legged and facing Link. "She is one of the most annoying fairies I have ever met, I thought you might want to have a break. It's hard to play with someone with that annoying bug hovering above your shoulder at all times."

"True, but after years of not having a fairy partner I guess I'd just learned to quickly put up with her nagging." Link said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"What do you mean by 'years of not having a fairy partner'?" Sheik blinked his eyes as he questioned his new friend. " I have always heard a Kokiri always had a fairy guardian with them since the day their Deku Tree created them, I have never heard of one not getting one till years later." Link just shrugged his shoulders again, no one in his village could figure that out themselves.

But now he had one in the from of the nagging Navi so he wasn't about to complain... to much. " will I guess it doesn't matter now. But are you sure you can't trade her in for a more agreeable guardian?"

" Oh, I'm sure." Link said with a laugh. Sheik sighed, he had quickly come to dislike his new friends partner, before standing and walking to the edge of the roof.

"I think your bug will be busy for a while." he said, looking around and not seeing any sign of Navi. " Come, I'll take you to my home." he waved Link over to join him before leaping from the roof and landing on the ground below on his feet like a cat, knees bent to lessen the impact.

Link followed, rolling into a tumble and nearly bowling over a group of mushrooms. A small being with a blue hat came out, shaking it's fist at the boy. Link smiled sheepishly before quietly saying "Pi poa". The very small being huffed before turning and going back into it's little house, tail lashing behind it.

" What in the name of Malius was that?" Sheik asked, watching with wide red eyes.

"Oh, just a Minish. They're everywhere, that one wasn't happy I nearly knocked over it's house." Link said as he got up off the group, brushing dirt off his tunic once again. " A group of forest Minish live in Kokiri forest with us."

Sheik frowned, casting a glance at the mushrooms again. "You said these... Minish... are everywhere. How come I have never seen one before now?"

"Maybe you just never paid attention, I know children like us usually are the only ones that can see them. Maybe someone else around here has." Link responded, not really concern about it.

"Maybe... well come on, my home is this way." Sheik grabbed Link's hand and lead the boy over to the large house on the far side of the small town. To the side of it was a pen where Cucco's usually were kept, though now it was empty and a red headed lass was standing next to it, looking worried as she pressed her hand up to her mouth. Sheik ignored the woman, dragging Link into the house itself, calling out as they made it inside. "Mother, I'm back!"

"Did you finish helping Anju?" A tall, slightly scary looking woman walked out from the back, holding a box. She was wearing a skin tight black and blue outfit, strange tattoo markings around her eyes and had very short sliver tinted hair. "Who is this?" She asked, rising an eyebrow at Link as she placed the box on the table and thinking the boy looking very familiar.

"Pnudran!" A boy who looked a couple of years younger than either Link or Sheik came tearing in after the woman, lunching himself at Sheik and knocking the blond to the floor.

"Kain! Get off, I can't breath!" Sheik said, pushing the smaller boy off. The boy, Kain, had the same tinted sliver hair as the woman and it came down a little past his shoulders. He was also wearing a pair of loose shorts and a semi large shirt that hung off one shoulder. He just laughed as Sheik pushed him off, dancing out of the older boy's reach and hid behind Link.

"Can't get me Pnudran!" Kain said, sticking out his tongue childishly. Sheik growled, more than ready to tackle the younger boy.

"Boys, stop this instant." Their mother said, taking Kain by the arm and dragging him out from behind his hiding spot. Then she glared down at Sheik, making him quickly get off the floor.

"Yes mother" they both said, looking at the floor.

"Now, introduce your friend Sheik." She said once her sons were properly cowed.

"His name is Link, I met him on the edge of town. He's a Kokiri!" Sheik said excitedly, looking up at his mother. The woman, Impa, frowned a bit, looking Link over. She doubted the third boy was truly a Kokiri even though he dressed as one.

"Then where is his fairy?" She asked instead, keeping from voicing her opinions.

"Oh, we ditched her. She an annoying little thing." Sheik said with a shrug, not thinking it as a big deal. Now Impa was sure Link as not one of the forest children. Thought there were cases of Kokiri leaving their forest for a short amount of time, with the proper protection spells cast upon them by their Deku Tree, they could not be separated from their Guardian Fairies. So that made the boy, Link, a Hylain. Though most likely not a pure one, his eyes had a purple tint to them meaning he may have some Sheikah blood in them. Of course that could also be a trick of the light.

"Tell me young one, what brings you to Kakariko Village." Impa asked, turning her full attention to Link.

"It's kind of a long story." Link said, not sure if he should tell his story or not. But he got a good feeling from these three, unlike what he had gotten with Zelda. So after Impa had lead all three boys to sit at the large table in the middle of the room, Link spilled his story to the Sheikah woman, Sheik and Kain looking at him with wide eyes. When he finally trailed off, he was looking at the table, slender ears drooped a bit as he waited for Impa to say something.

"That is quite a story young one." Impa said, leaned back in her seat, one arm wrapped around her waist while the other's elbow rested on top of it and tapped her chin absently.

"It was cool! So your like a hero!" Kain said excitedly, red eyes shining happily, leaning forward in his seat.

"Kain..." Impa said, making her younger son blush and sit back in his chair. Then she turned back to look at Link, watching him briefly before speaking again. " Do you plan to go up the mountain?"

"Well... yeah. Princess Zelda asked me too. I want to keep Hyrule safe." Link said, looking up again.

"You are a brave child Link." Impa said, garnet red eyes giving Link another look over. "Go and play with your friend Sheik." Sheik grinned, hopping up and grabbing Link's hand. The Kokiri gave a startled squeak as he was dragged out of his chair and out of the house by his new friend. "And finish helping Anju with her cuoccos!"

-----------------------------

"There you are, finally!" Both boys groaned as they heard Navi's voice from behind them. Link turned around, petting the Cuocco he was holding to keep it clam unlike Sheik who was fighting just to keep a grip on his bird. " I've been looking for you for hours!"

"It's not my fault you lost me" Link said, turning from his fairy partner and walking over to the Cucco pen and gently placing the bird in before facing Navi again.

"You and that boy ran off one me! You've wasted enough time with this boy, Link" Navi said, glaring Sheik's way as he tossed his Cucco into the pen. "It's time to go up Death Mountain."

"What makes you think the guards are going to let him go up the mountain?" Sheik asked, coming up to Link's side.

"Princess Zelda gave us a letter to give to the guards that will let us through." Navi said smugly. Sheik shook his head, laughing. " What's so funny?"

"Do you really think the guards are going to let a child in, no matter from what race, just because the princess says so?" Sheik said in-between giggles. "They'll say it's just a game and won't let you through."

"Yo-you're lying." Navi said, her light paling into a really pale blue as Sheik shook his head again.

"I've lived here all my life bug, I think I know what the guards will do." Sheik said, grabbing Link's hand and meant to drag the other boy with him.

"Wait!" Anju ran up, stopping in front of the two 10 years old. She smiled and handed Link a glass bottle." Thank you for your help." she said with a bow before going back to the Cuocco pen.

"Um... thank you?" Link said confused as he looked down at the empty bottle before shrugging and placing it into his pockets. He frowned as he noticed that his pockets were getting full and soon he wouldn't be able to fit much else in them.

"What is the matter?" Sheik asked as he glance back at his friend.

"My pockets are getting full and my bag is filled with food." Said Link as he sighed, there was nothing he could do about it.

---------------------------------

Impa frowned, she knew the boy needed to go up the mountain to speak to the leader of the Gorons. And as much as she hated putting a child in danger, she also knew that the boy was the only one that could defeat the dark times ahead. So, that mean she, Impa of the Sheikah, would have to help the boy on the quest and get Link up Death Mountain.

Impa looked up as the door opened, seeing her eldest son, Link and a small of light she assumed was Link's guardian fairy.

"Mother, tell this annoying bug that the princess's letter will not allow Link past the guards. " Sheik said, glaring in Navi's direction.

"My son is correct, the Sheikah guards that watch the gate will not allow a child though because of a simple letter." Impa backed up what Sheik had been saying. "But I on the other hand can tell the guards to allow you both to pass." Link's eyes widened a bit in surprise before he smile a bit. He didn't really want to go into more danger but at least this would make it a bit easier.

"Thank you!" Link chipped, bowing at the waist. Impa chuckled lightly, her hand covering her mouth.

"Come" she said, placing a hand on Link's back to lead the Kokiri out. Sheik come running from the back, something clutched in his hands. He had slipped away as his mother spoke to Link.

"Let us pass." Impa said to the two guards by the gates. The guards, who knew better than to question an elder, did as she said the female of the pair tapping the butt of her bladed staff against the ground. Both still looked curious as to why she was taking a pair of children up the mountain, even if one was her own son.

" You are a brave child Link, your taking on something not even most adult would." Impa said as they rounded the bend and were out of site of the gate. " But there is something else you need before you can continue your journey."

"What's that?" Link asked, looking up and blinking his purplish-blue eyes at the woman. Sheik gave a curious look as well.

"You need the song of the royal family to prove you are a massager. Zelda was foolish to have forgotten this fact." Impa said, stopping and turning to Link. " This song has been passed down many generations of the royal family, this is your right. Listen and learn 'Zelda's lullaby'." That said, Impa placed her index finger and thumb into her mouth and slowly whistled out the song for Link to learn. After going over it a couple of times, she gave Link an expected look as the small blond took out his forest ocarina and beautifully played the song back to her.

"Good. This is where I leave you Link, be careful as you climb up the mountain as there many dangerous spots." Impa said, turning and starting back down the trail. " I expect you back by dinner Sheik"

"Yes mother!" Sometimes Sheik just loved his mother, she just gave him permission to follow Link up Death Mountain. "Oh Link, here." The Sheikah boy said as he ran to catch up with his friend. He handed the slightly smaller boy the bag he snatched from his room.

"Thanks." Link said, looking curious at the item he was handed. It was a bit on the side small, not much bigger than his pockets.

"It's can hold anything you put in it, it's magic!" Sheik said, quite proud. " It shrinks down what ever you place in it and it returns to normal size when you take it back out. It use to belong to my father."

"Oh... Sheik, if it was your dads should I even be taking it?" Link asked, tilting his head to the side. Sheik shrugged, spreading his hands.

"It was passed to me cause I'm the oldest child but I want you to have it." he said, tugging at Link's belt. Link made a sound of protest, blushing heavily. "That way you don't have to worry about your pockets getting full" he added, unlacing the belt enough to put the bag on and redid the belt up. The small bag rested on Link's hip.

"Gee, that's nice of you." Navi said, Sheik glared up at the fairy. "It's for Link, not for you." He said with a growl. Link laughed, grabbing Sheik's hand and started up the trail.

---------------------------------

"How far up this mountain do we have to go anyway?" Link asked, panting a bit as he leaned agasint a boulder. Most of the trail up the mountain was steep and the two boys had been attacked at least twice by Tektites.

" I think the Gorons live near the top." Sheik said, looking over the edge of the trail, seeing his village in the distance, then looking up at the top of the mountain. "I don't think we have that much more to go."

"If your so sure, why don't you just teleport all of us to the top" Navi suggested. She had forgotten about the special magic of the shadow elves earlier when he and Link disappeared, only to be reminded when several adult Sheikah had appeared in front of her later.

"I can't, a Sheikah needs to have been to a place before to be able to teleport to it. I've never even see the Goron Village much less visited." Sheik said, coping Link's actions and leaning against a slightly off color boulder. As the golden hair blond put his weight on it, the boulder started to shake and make deep groaning noises. Sheik yelped in surprise, leaping away and clutching onto Link who has also jumped up in surprise. The so-called boulder uncurled itself and stood, very large brown eyes looking down at the pair of boys.

"Oh. sorry about that-goro" The Goron said in a deep voice, his big hands curled around his side.

"Wh-what is that?" Link asked softly, his violet colored eyes wide.

"That is a Goron." Sheik said in relief as he left go of Link.

-----------------------

Next chapter, Link fianlly mets with the Goron's 'Big Brother' who sents him on a errand before he can get the 'Goron Ruby'

See ya!


	6. To the Dodongo Cavern

A Switch of Fate By: USA Tiger

Disclamier: The characters of The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time belong to Nintendo and the guy who made these characters, I'm just borrowing them for the time being.

Chapter 6

"Wow, it's all one large cavern" Link said in awe as he looked around Goron's city. There were several caves entrances everywhere, a Goron coming out or going in here and there.

"So this is how the Goron's live." Sheik said as he too looked around. " I wonder where that stone you're looking for is."

"We could ask that Goron over there on that platform." Link said, pointing to the wooden platform being held up by three strong ropes and was suspended over the lower levels of the caverns.

"I guess I can us teleport us over there." Sheik said, turning around to look at Link only to see the boy wasn't there. Link was already crossing over the rope to the platform. "Link what are you doing?!?" Link stopped and turned around, balancing on the ropes easily and giving Sheik a curious look.

"I'm going to speak to the Goron over there." he said, pointing to the Goron on the platform before turning again and continuing his trek. Sheik bit his lip, gulping as he looked down over the edge to the lower levels of the platform.

'If he falls, he could kill himself!' Sheik thought in a panic as his red eyes snapped back to Link who was now on the platform and was speaking to the Goron. He watched as the Goron pointed to the lowest level of the cavern and as Link gave the creature a brilliant smile before doing a tightrope routine back over to Sheik. "Please don't do that again Link, you nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Link said with a blush as he saw the concerned look on Sheik's face. "I've walked tree limbs that are not much wider than that rope so it was easy."

"Alright I didn't mean to yell at you, I was just worried for you. If you had fallen...." Sheik shuttered slightly as he thought of what could have happen to his new friend. "Anyway, what did that Goron tell you? I saw him pointing to the lower levels."

"Oh, he said usually the spiritual stone of fire, or as he called it the Goron Ruby, is on that platform but their 'big brother' took it and is waiting in his room for the messenger of the Royal family." Link said, tilting his head a bit. " What does he mean by 'big brother'?"

"Goron's call each other 'brother' and the 'big brother' is the leader of them." Sheik said. " So do you want me to teleport us down to the bottom?"

"No, I think we should walk." Link said with a shake of his head. He wanted to see more of the Goron city.

******************

Sheik gave curious looks at the boy beside him, Link was humming a song under his breath as they passed one of the tunnels on the lower levels of the Goron City.

"What are you humming?" he finally asked, making Link stop and turned to give him a confused look.

"What?" He asked as he placed a hand on his hip while the other one hanged down beside his leg, it was a strange stance that Sheik noticed Link took up whenever he was speaking to someone.

"You were humming, what song was it?" Sheik asked again. Link blinked his eyes, a clueless look on his face, he hadn't even realized he was humming anything. He was about to answer the other boy, telling him he didn't know that he had been humming, but snapped his mouth shut and tilted his head to the side listing to something. "What is it?" Sheik questioned as he saw Link's actions.

"Shh." Link said, waving a hand in Sheik direction as he followed the faint sounds he heard.

"I hear music." Navi said, flying back the way they came to find the source. Sheik, curious, followed after, now faintly hearing the notes now too, which got louder as they neared a close by tunnel. He quickly realized it was the same song that Link had been humming.

Once the two elven boys and one fairy reached the tunnel, the notes of Saria s Song surrounded them fully. The tunnel was dark, a large wall of cracked boulders in front of them surrounded by strange bomb looking flowers and a lone Goron curled up in front of the wall. He uncurled himself and stood up as the boys approached.

"Where does this tunnel lead?" Link asked the rock man.

"I don't know, but that tune that's playing is really catchy, very relaxing goro" the Goron said, snapping his fingers a bit to the beat. "Everyone in the city loves it, even Big Brother."

Link gazed at the boulders in front of him, a thoughtful look on his face. He grinned and snapped his fingers before turning to Sheik.

"I bet I know where the tunnel ends" He chirped happily.

"Where?" Sheik asked, curious as a cat.

"The Lost Woods, I pass by stone a archway every time I go to the Scared Glade, I went in once but the tunnel inside was blocked off by a bunch of rocks." Link said, quite happy to have solve this mystery once and for all, wait until he told Saria where it ended.

"Well that makes sense, the music Saria always plays always seems to fill the woods, so it must travel down the tunnel too." Navi said, agreeing with Link. Link giggled as he realized Saria had a bunch of Goron groupies.

******************

"So, how do I open the door?" Link asked, pushing a bit at the large stone door, which had a strange symbol on it, but it wouldn't budge.

"Well there's no leavers or switches on this side of the door, so it must open from the inside." Sheik commented as he studied the door. "The Goron said that their 'Big Brother' was waiting for the messenger of the royal family, which is you, so you have to be able to get inside somehow."

"As much as I hate to say it, I don't think a grown Goron will think a child is the messenger just because they say so" Navi said from her place above Link's shoulder. "Hey! What about that song the Sheikah woman taught you? Didn't she say it proved that your the Royal Family Messenger?"

"But do you think it will reach him behind these thick walls." Sheik asked, finally giving up on finding a way into the room behind the door.

"We'll never know until we try" Link said as he dug thought his pockets and removed his light green ocarina. He softly blew into the instrument and played out the song, Zelda's Lullaby, that Impa had taught him. Almost as soon as the notes died away, there was a click and the stone door slid to the side with a grinding noise. Both blonds looked at each other before heading to the short tunnel to the room on the other side. Standing in the middle of the room was a very large Goron, much larger than the Gorons outside, who had a spiky rock 'hair' style.

The large Goron looked down at the pair of children in front of him, his dark eyes narrowing slightly.

"What's this? When I heard the song, I thought the messenger from the Royal Family of the Hylains had finally arrived, but all I seen is a Kokiri and a Sheikah child. Go away, I do not have time for childern." the Goron said in a deep, angry voice. Link gulped slightly before stepping up slightly.

"I... I'm the messenger from the Royal Family" Link said, jumping back as the large Goron quickly turned toward him.

"What! Does the King, my Sworn Brother, see fit to mock me, Darunia the leader of the Gorons by sending a child!" Darunia yelled, enraged by the very thought. Both Link and Sheik looked up at him with wide eyes, Link's back to Sheik's chest as the smaller blond backed up against the other. Even Navi had been shocked, flying back behind the two boys.

"Why... why are you so angry?" Link finally asked.

"Why! Someone had sealed Dodongo Cavern. My people are starving! There is a monster in the cavern as well. Why do you think I'm angry!" Darunia raged, hitting his fist into the ground, causing it to shake. Link realized the large rock man needed to calm down and fast. The Kokiri boy quickly thought of a way to calm Darunia down, remembering that the Goron at the mouth of the tunnel that lead to the Lost Woods had claimed the music from there was very relaxing and that their 'big brother' enjoyed it as well.

Link quickly took out his ocarina and played Saria's Song. As he continued to play, Darunia stopped his raging and listened to the music. Suddenly a large grin crossed his face before be broke out into a dance.

"Yeah! Oh yeah!. Yes! Yahooo!" Darunia yelled as he danced wildly, causing Link and Sheik to back up against the wall to avoid getting hit. After a moment or two of wildly swinging his arms around in a mockery of dancing, Darunia finally stopped, a large smile on a face and his black eyes bright. "Ohhhh, I feel much better. Who are you again?" the Goron said, now much calmer since he danced out his anger.

"Oh, I'm Link. And this is Navi and Sheik." Link said, tucking away his ocarina and waving a hand in the direction of his two companions.

"Well then, what is it that you wanted Link." Darunia asked, large arms crossed over his chest again as he looked down at the two boys and fairy in front of him, once again looking tough and imposing.

"ummm.... I want the Spiritual Stone of Fire." Link said, a bit nervously. Darunia's eyes widened and outside of the Gorons leader room, several Gorons could hear their Big Brother yell

"WHAT!?!"

****************

"Alright, explain to me again how this is going to work?" Link asked, peering over the edge of cliff he and Sheik was standing on, hands wrapped around the small wooden fence on the edge.

"All you have to do is pick up that bomb flower there" Sheik pointed at the explosive plant no less than a couple of feet away " and throw it over the fence your leaning against. Hopefully, it will land by the boulder down there and blow it up. It's perfect" Link had doubts of that, reaching down to twist the new gold arm band wrapped around his left forearm. The trinket was a gift from Darunia after the Goron and the Kokiri had come to an agreement on the Spiritual Stone of Fire.

Darunia agreed to give up the Goron treasure, commonly known as the Goron Ruby, if Link could not only figured out how to reopen the cave that housed the Goron's choice of food, a special type of rock, but he was also to defeat the monster that was housed inside. Darunia advised Link that both the monster and the blockage of the cave was done by a pair of witches who had also requested the stone. When the Goron leader did not turn over the stone to the witches, they cursed Dodongo cave to starve the Gorons until Darunia gave up the Spiritual stone.

In the end, Link had to agree to the Goron leader request. After all, he couldn't let the poor Gorons starve, so he would be doing this even if it wasn't for the Goron Ruby. The Kokiri just wondered if he was going to have through a task like this for when he visited the Zora's and asked for their stone. It was become a common theme after all, Link had to break the curse inside the Great Deku Tree (though the tree still died anyway) and now he was going into a likely very dangerous cave.

'What in the name of Farore am I going to face when I go to retrieve the Spiritual Stone of Water?' Link wondered to himself as he picked up the bomb flower. He gulped as he saw that the bomb flower's top started to flare, quickly racing over to the edge of the cliff and lobbing the explosive plant over the edge. Navi quickly flew over the edge, looking down to watch it's decent.

"It landed right next to the boulder! Are you sure that one bomb flower is going to be enough to destroy it?" Navi asked, turning her small body to face the two boy's still on the cliff.

*Ka-Boom!!*

Down below, the bomb flower reached the end of it's fuse stalk, exploding and blowing the giant boulder up to pieces. The Goron standing near by gave a yell of shocked surprise while Navi gave a shriek as the small shock-wave from the bomb flower was enough to send the small fairy tumbling through the air from where she had been floating. Link caught his fairy partner before she hit the ground.

"Never mind, one bomb flower is more than enough" Navi said in a wavery voice, sitting up in Link's hands. She swayed side-to-side, little swirl's in her eyes, dizzy from her tumble in the air.

**************

"Oh Farore, it's so hot in here" Link panted, leaning against a wall. The Kokiri boy sweating heavily, his strawberry blond hair sticking to his face and neck. His tunic was sticking to his skin, not made for this hot environment. "And if one more Dodongo larva jumps up and blows up on me one more time, I'm going to scream" he added with a hiss as he pushed off the wall, pulling at his injuries. The boy was covered in burns and cuts, thanks to several Dodongos, at all stages of growth, and strange statues called Beamos that shots a beam of light out of it's 'eye'.

After Link had opened the Dodongo Cave, thanks to Sheik's plan, the two boys had quickly gone down the path to the cave. Sheik had been more than ready to join Link in saving the place only to have Navi put a stopper in his plans. The fairy had made it quite clear that this part of Link's quest was to be done alone with out the young shadow elf's help. Sheik had pouted before sadly saying goodbye to his new friend and making Link promise to come back to his home once Link was done with Darunia's task and had the ruby spiritual stone.

From there it was one hardship after another, with the result of Link not liking Dodongos. As stated before, the boy had several burns on his hands and legs, his tunic sporting a few burn spots as well. He was just glad that there wasn't any of the fire breathing lizards that was as big as the one whose skull rested in the main chamber of the cave.

"Well at lease according to the map we found, there isn't too much more to explore here" Navi said, seemingly not bothered by the heat. Though she too was disturbed by the monsters inside the cave network. This place was much more dangerous than the challenges that had been in the Deku Tree. Still, the old tree had said that this was the young boy's destiny so Link had to be able to handle everything thrown at him. "Come on, you rested long enough, time to head into the next chamber."

Link groaned but did as she said, heading to the exit out of the room. The next chamber was one he had been in before but in a different part. Across from him was a chest, making the boy wonder what was in this one. So far he had found a map and compass in the large chests in the cave, much like he had found in the Great Deku tree. Opening the chest, Link grinned as he reached in and grabbed a bag that was filled with bombs.

"Thank Din, I don't have to use those Bomb Flowers anymore." Link said as he slipped the bomb bag into the pouch Sheik gave him.

"You have had too many close calls with those things" Navi agreed as they moved on. "It's a very useful item you found really." Link just nodded his head in agreement, reaching up to whip the sweat off of his forehead again. He heard a digging sound as he reached the next room, groaning as he saw more baby Dodongos dig their way out of the ground.

****************

"I never want to see another Dodongo as long as I live" Link said as he leaned against the cavern wall, hissing as he pulled away as the rocky surface was a little too hot. He was finally finished with saving the Dodongo cavern, killing off the giant lizard in the very last chamber in the caves. That one had been huge! Almost as big as the skull in the first large cavern. The bombs had been useful at least, the dumb Dodongo had swallowed every single bomb the boy had tossed into it's mouth as it drew in air to breath out a jet stream of fire.

"But you did good Link. You rid the caves of the Dodongos, just like you agreed to do. So that means Darunia must give you the Spiritual Stone of Fire! That only leaves the Stone of Water, we're closer to putting a halt to Ganondorf's plans." Navi said, nodding her head. They were so much closer to saving Hyrule, the Great Deku Tree would have been so proud of them.

"Oh Navi, don't start that again." Link sighed as he walked toward the finally cooled off lava pit in the middle of the room. In the middle, a circle of blue light had appeared, much like it had when he finished off Queen Goma in the Deku Tree, to take him and Navi back out. "I still don't believe that Ganondorf is going to take over Hyrule, there just something about Zelda's story that doesn't seem right to me. Besides, that girl creeps me out, like there's something wrong with her."

"Link, she's the princess of Hyrule. She's just trying to protect her people, much like her father did at the end of the Great Hyrule Wars." Navi said, shaking her head sadly, when would her charge give up this silly notion that the Gerudo King wasn't evil.

"Just because she's a princess does not make her a good person" Link insisted as he stepped into the warp circle. "I'm telling you, something doesn't sit right with me on her" Navi groaned and shook her head again as she joined the Kokiri boy in the light, dropping the subject for now. The light brightened, swirling around the pair, Link looking up as the warp took him outside. The magic gently lowered Link to the ground one outside the mouth of the Dodongo Cavern, the child sighing with relief as a cool wing blew past cooling him off.

Link stood there for a few minutes, letting himself cool down after the trial he had just went through before getting ready to hike back up the mountain side to the Goron City. He had only taken a couple of steps before stopping suddenly. There was a strange whistling noise that was getting louder by the second. He look up into the sky, giving a startled yelp as he dove out of the way to avoid being hit by a falling boulder. Only to find out it wasn't a boulder but in fact the Goron leader Darunia who stood up proudly once he had landed.

"Good job kid!" Darunia said, a large smile on his face. "I can't believe none of us thought to blow up the boulder" he added, looking over his shoulder at the cave entrance. It was embarrassing that he didn't think of it, he was suppose to protect his Brothers, make sure they were in good health and fed. But he had failed in that, letting his anger of the situation get to his head. Darunia was very grateful to Link for not only reopening the Dodongo Cavern but also killing the monster inside.

"Well it's over now, but I never want to see another Dodongo as long as I live" Link said, lifting up a hand to rub at one of the burns on his arm.

"You know, I'm going to make you my Sworn Brother" Darunia said, patting Link on the back. The blond yelped as the hand hit his back and he was pushed forward, making him stumble forward. Navi made a pleased noise from where she floated above, her change being named a Sworn Brother to the leader of the Gorons was a great honor. Only the King of Hyrule had been given such an honor within the last 100 years. "And I will hold up my end of the deal, the Spiritual Stone of Fire is yours" Darunia said as he held up his hand. The Goron Ruby appeared high in the air before slowly floating down to his hand, he then handed it to Link. "Keep it with pride, Brother"

"Thank you Darunia" Link said with a smile as he took the stone, gazing at the beautiful ruby stone and gold frame work before placing it in his pocket beside the Kokiri Emerald.

"Another thing Brother" Darunia turned an pointed a large finger toward the smoky top of Death Mountain. "There is a Great Fairy that lives near the top of the mountain. It might be worth your wild to pay her a visit, she can at least heal those Dodongo burns, there's nothing like a fairy's healing magic."

"I think it would be a good idea to pay her a visit then" Navi said before Link could say anything. The boy frowned a bit, he wasn't against visiting the fairy but he was tried, sore and hurt. All he wanted to do is take a bath to wash off the ashy grim that clung to him then sleep. He did not want to climb up the side of an active volcano right now. But, Navi was going to bug him until he agreed to do what she said.

"Alright everyone, lets send our Brother off" Darunia called out, hand cupped over his mouth. Several whistling noises came from above, same as when Darunia came sailing from the city above, before a small group of Gorons fell around Link and Navi.

"Good work brother"  
"Lets have a large group hug" Link gave a yell before running off through a opening in the group of advancing Gorons that lead up the path to the mountain. Navi quickly followed after, agreeing with the boy quick exit before the affectionate Gorons could hug him, avoiding being crushed.

Link ran up the side of the mountain until he turned a bend and was out of site of the group of Gorons, who was already heading into the cavern to get their food. The small boy stopped running, panting softly as he leaned over to catch his breath, hands resting on bent knees. Navi flew on ahead, looking for the path that would take her and Link up to the Great Fairy that lived at the top.

"Come on Link, I found the way to the Great Fairy!" Navi called loudly, turning to face Link who was groaning softly as he straightened himself up and slowly walked to where the fairy was floating. "Hurry up"

"Navi, would you hold your horse-flies" Link groaned as he stopped under the fairy. "I'm tired, I'm sore and hurt. I just want a soft bed and some food right now."

"Well, you'll get a chance to rest up and heal after we visit the Great Fairy" Navi said as she flew down and started to prod Link in the back to get him moving. The blond groaned softly but started moving again, climbing up the really steep hill until he reached the top and looked down the path that lead to the valcano itself. His violet eyes widened as it started to rain boulders and fire.

"You want me to go in there!?!" Link screeched as he turned his head to look up at Navi, pointing at the dangerous path.

"Well... yes. Look, it's stopping" Navi said, making her charge turn his attention back to the path. The rocks and fire tapered off, leaving behind crushed rocks. Link stayed where he was for several minutes, making Navi frown slightly. "what are you..." the fairy's little eyes widen as the rumbling started again, making her turn around and watch as the rocks and fire started to fall again.

"I knew it, it comes and goes." Link said turning to look up at Navi. "How do you suggest I go down there without being killed?"

"Use that shield of yours, like when the giant Dodongo tried to roll over you. That should protect you from the rocks. Or you could just run through and try to dive out of the way as they fall" Navi suggested, making Link think that she was completely nuts.

"Navi, I am beginning to hate you" Link said under his breath as he adjusted his large Hylain solider shield on his back before running down the dangerous path.

*********

Sheik knelt down, parting the bushes as he looked down the ground. He was worried about Link, the boy had been inside the Goron's Dodongo cavern since the day before. The Sheikah boy was greatly worried about the other boy, the first true friend he had in a long time. There wasn't that many children in the village other than himself and Kain. What little children there was in the village, they were afraid to approach the older child of the village leader. Link was a breath of fresh air for Sheik and he didn't want the other boy hurt or killed. He was worried about the fact that Link would have to rejoin his fellow Kokiri in the woods soon but Sheik was sure his mother would allow him to visit Link there.

To distract him from his worries about Link, Sheik was looking for the Minish. He hadn't seen any others since the one that Link had spoken to after nearly landing on it's house but the other blond had told him the little people were everywhere. Sheik wanted to see the little blue robed people again, he had never seen anything like them.

"Sheik, what are you doing?" Kain asked, leaning forward with his hands braced on his knees. He had watched his big brother crawl and poke around in differnt all around the village, looking behind bushes and even gave a long intense stare at a mushroom on the ground.

"I'm looking for the Minish." Sheik said, not looking up from his search until he was completely sure there were no Minish there.

"Oh.... What's a Minish?" Kain asked, tilting his head to the side, his hair that was tied off in a briad that day falling over his shoulder.

"It's a little creature that's about this big" Sheik sat back on his heels, holding his hand up with his fingers closed near together to show how big a Minish was, " wearing a little blue robe and hat and has a big feathered tail. They're suppose to be everywhere but only kids like us can see them"

"Like a Picori?" Kain asked again, squatting down beside his brother, arms wrapped around his knees. Sheik frowned at the foreign term then shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know, I've never heard of a Picori. Where did you hear that?" Sheik asked as he stood up, brushing off his legs then holding out a hand to help his little brother up.

"The kids that moved from Hyrule Castle Town, they said that. They told me that they have this festival in the town around the castle that called the Picori Festival and it's about this little race of people that go around helping people but only kids are suppose to be able to see them." Kain said in a excited chatter as he grabbed Sheik's hand and allowed the older boy to pull him up.

"I guess they are the same thing, but the Kokiri called Minish while the Hyrulians call them call them Picori." Sheik decided, as he turned to head back home. It was getting late and he knew Impa would be calling for them to come home soon. As the two Sheikah boys neared the home they shared with their mother, the song of great beating wings came from above them as a large shadow passed over the ground. Sheik and Kain looked up as a very large owl flew over them, heading toward the roof top of their house. Sheik's red eyes widen as he noticed something, or to be more exact someone, in the talons of the large owl. "Link!"

Sheik wasted no time in teleporting to the roof of the house just as the owl, Kaepora Gaebora, dropped Link gently onto the roof. Link waved as Kaepora flew away then turned around in time to grabbed up in a hug from Sheik. Link was very glad that the Great Fairy of Power had healed all of his burns, cuts, and burses after she had gifted him with the knowledge of how to perform a powered up spin attack, other wise he would be in pain with the way Sheik pounced on him.

"Malius Link, I was worried. Did you do it? Did you get that stone from the Gorons?" Sheik asked as he let Link down then held him at arm length so he could look the other boy over.

"Yeah, I got the Goron Ruby and I destroyed the monster inside of the cave so the Gorons won't starve anymore." Link said tiredly. The fairy may have healed his hurts but he was still bone tired.

"Come on, you look like your about to fall over" Sheik said as he held Link close and teleported them into the house. Impa made a surprise noise as her son appears in the middle of the room, before frowning.

"Sheik, do not teleport into the house." Impa sternly told the boy before taking in the state of the other boy in her offspring s arms. "And let the poor boy sit down" Sheik blushed but helped Link to sit at the table. Almost at once, Link's head fell forward to rest on the table top. As tired as he was he didn't hear Kain enter the house with an annoyed Navi following him or notice as Impa lifted him from the table to lay him in a bed, falling completely asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.


	7. In the fish and the end of childhood

The Switch of Fate By: USA Tiger

Disclamier: The characters of The Legend of Zelda series belong to Nintendo.

Chapter 7

Link blinked sleepily as he woke up the next morning. Tired violet colored eyes looked around; the busy events from the day before came crashing down on him. He spied Navi sleeping in a makeshift nest made out of his hat on the low beside table.

The small blond child slowly became aware that he wasn't in the bed alone. There was an arm draped across his waist, Link turning to look on his other side. Sheik was sleeping peacefully, the other child's face relax greatly in his sleep. Link wondered why Sheik was sleeping in the bed with him until he realized that this was likely Sheik's bed. He looked around again, spying Sheik's younger brother Kain asleep in a bed across the room.

After carefully removed Sheik's arm from across his waist, Link slowly sat up, gasping and moaning very softly as his abused and tired muscles screamed at him for moving. The Great Fairy of Power had been able to heal over his wounds and bruises from Dodongo Cave but not the soreness from all the fighting and moving he had been doing. Link swung his legs over the edge of the bed, slowly easing himself out onto the floor.

He slowly limped his way toward the door of the room, his form slowly becoming use to moving again. Looking out the door into the main room, Link didn't see anyone in the room before limping in and over to the table in the middle of the room. A soft sound of bleating caught his attention, Link turning and staring at the creature standing in a cage under the stairs. It was a little bit smaller than a cow, covered in blue fur with a large horn coming out of its head, making a circle above its body. Link had never seen an animal like it, walking closer to reach through the bars to softly pat its nose.

"It's called a goat" Link jumped a foot in the air before spinning and facing an amused Impa. "I did not mean to startle you."

"It... it's ok. I've never seen a goat before" Link said as his heart clamed in its racing.

"I'm sure there are a great deal you are seeing for the first time since you left your forest" Impa said, going over to the stove and began a fire within. "Goats are not common in this part of Hyrule, they hale from the Ordon region. Cows are much more common. But I prefer the milk goats produce."

"Isn't the cage a little small for it?" Link said as he reached in and patted the goat's nose again, the animal bleating again in happiness.

"It is taken out every day by one of my sons to graze and walk around" Impa assured him. "Link, please gather some water from the well near the center of town while I wake my sons" She requested, pointing toward the large bucket by the door. Link smile and nodded, picking up the bucket that was half his size and carried it outside toward the well.

After placing the bucket down beside him at the well, Link breathed deeply and started to look around, taking in the town in its early dawn state. He watched a cat creep along in the grasses and could hear the clucking of the Cuccos. Looking down, Link also saw a couple of tiny Minish walking along the edge of the well, gathering their own water from a tiny puddle of water. All in all, it was a peaceful looking town and Link liked it. It didn't have the busyness of Hyrule Castle Town but Link didn't mind, the city had been a little too busy for his liking and then there was the fact he had no love for the soldiers there. The Sheikah guards on the other hand seemed a lot nicer.

Link slowly filled the bucket with water from the well then started the slow journey back, trying not to spill any of the water. When he made it back inside, he saw Sheik at the table, head down on the surface, and Kain yawning softly as he followed his mother out of the room he shared with his brother.

"Thank you Link" Impa said as she easily picked up the bucket of water and carried it the rest of the way to the stove. Both of the Sheikah woman's sons gave Link a sleepily 'good morning' though Sheik's was muffled. Link noted that Navi wasn't there and could only hope the fairy was still sleeping.

"Impa, do you know if it's possible for me to somehow get some Cuccos and a cow or two to my village?" Link asked as he walked over to the stove; remember his plan on getting some of the animals to the Kokiri village to make their lives a little easier. Impa was surprised by the question, it had never accrued to her that the Kokiri wouldn't already have these things.

"I'm sure there is a way, there is a small village of Sheikah that lives in the forest near to yours, just outside of Kokiri lands," She said, turning away from the stove to look down at Link. "That guards that part of Hyrule. I'm sure they could arrange for a few animals to be delivered there."

"Thank you" Link said happily, grinning as Impa nodded her head and he went to join Sheik at the table who had lifted his head to listen to the others.

"Why do you want Cuccos and cows anyway?" He asked, turning to face Link.

"We don't have any in our village. We set traps for small animals and fish for meat." Link explained. "Other wise, we have to have small gardens and look for berries and nuts in the woods for our food. You got to remember we do not have... parents?... like your do. We only have our fairies, the Great Deku tree and sometimes the Minish to look out for us; otherwise we must take care of ourselves. Sometimes we trade with the Kikwis but they don't leave their part of the forest very often"

"...oh" Sheik said, blinking red eyes at Link as he took in what the other boy told him. Never once had it accrued to him just how the Kokiri lived, only tales that they were the eternal children that lived in the forest. Something that a great many kids in the village wanted, to never grow up, but it seemed that there was more to that.

"Sheik, the Kokiri do not physically age past their per-teen years" Impa explained as she placed plates in front of the boys. "But that does not make them children the same way you are a child."

"Oh... so how old are you then Link" Sheik asked, wondering just how old Link was then if the Kokiri didn't age past a certain period.

"I'm only 10, not as old as the rest of the other's my village, I'm the child along with one or two others among my people" Link explained. "It will be a few years before I'm no longer considered just a child; finally having a fairy partner is a step in the right direction for that"

"So it always takes a long time for a fairy to partner up with a Kokiri?" Kain asked, getting into the conversation.

"Well... no, not really." Link said, shaking his head. "As far as I know, it's a rare thing."

"Enough talk, eat up you three" Impa said as she placed goblets of goat milk in front of the three boys. As she listened to Link, she was becoming more and more sure that the boy was in no way a true Kokiri. She wondered, just for a second as she sat down to her own breakfast, just what the Great Deku Tree had planned on doing when Link continued to age when the other's of his village did not. She also wondered just who were in fact Link's parents. He did not resemble any Hylain that she had even met, and with his eye color, she believed that he may have some Sheikah blood as well.

Impa shook herself out of her thoughts, for now there was nothing to do about it other than inform the Sheikah in the village in the forest to keep an eye out for the young blond and to take him away when it came to light that he was in fact not a Kokiri.

* * *

"Awww, why can't I go too?" Kain whined up at his mother as he watched Sheik pack a small bag to take with him as he traveled with Link and Navi to Zora's domain. He was to be their guide into the Zora's land.

"You are too young, my son" Impa said, she had trust in Sheik to keep out of trouble. "And your brother is at an age where he is starting to grow into a fine young Sheikah. Soon your time will come." Sheik blushed but felt a burst of happiness as he listened to his mother as he finished packing. Standing, he grabbed the throwing needles his mother taught him how to use. He was still too young to go out with the whip he was currently learning to use.

"Be careful Sheik, I except your return within the next couple of days" Impa said.

"I will Mom." Sheik said, kissing her cheek then pressed his forehead against Kain's. "Don't drive Mom nuts while I'm gone he said softly before running out of the door.

Sheik grinned as he saw Link waiting by the front gate of the village.

"Finally, we're wasting time waiting on you" Navi said as Sheik came to a stop by Link.

"Oh shut it bug, no one asked for your opinion" The boy said with a glare in the fairy's direction. "Let s go Link; we have to walk up the length of Zora River to reached one of the entrances to Zora's Domain."

"One of them? There's more than one?" Link asked as he followed Sheik down the stairs that lead to Hylain Field.

"There are about 3 or 4 I think, but a couple of them are really far off. This one is sort of like a back entrance, it leads into inner caverns. It's also the one the Royal Family uses but since you have the song, you can use it too" Sheik explained. "There's also a visitors entrance that's near the throne room, but it would take a couple of days to reach that entrance on foot."

"We don't have time for that" Navi said. "So I suppose we will have to use your way"

* * *

"Now, if I remember correctly, that fork in the river leads up to Lake Zora and that one leads to the city" Sheik said while pointing to the fork in the river.

"Lake Zora?" Link repeated. "Do any of the Zora live there?"

"Yeah, it's where most of the Zora live, they have a village down at the bottom" Sheik said as he lead the way toward Zora domain. "The Zora are the ones that keep the rivers and the lakes clean."

"I've never seen a Zora before, are they like the Parella?" Link asked. It was rare for any of the Kokiri to venture as far as Lake Floria; he had only been twice with Saria as it was. He didn't remember seeing anything other than Parellas in the lake but that didn't mean that the Zora did go there.

"I don't know, I've never heard of the Parella" Sheik confessed as they continued up the river, passing by a large log in the water that was surrounded by large frogs that were each a different color.

"They kinda look like a jellyfish-seahorse... thing..." Link tried to describe. "They live in Lake Floria as the guardians. I think they also use to be servants to an old dragon that use to live in Faron woods but the dragon died a long time ago"

"Wow" Sheik said. "I've didn't know there was another lake in Hyrule. Anyway, we should see the waterfall that blocks the entrance here pretty soon." He said as they rounded the bend. Link made a noise of awe as he saw the water fall that flowed from the cliff. It wasn't as big as the water fall at Lake Floria but it was still quite a site to see.

The two boys and fairy walked up the natural land bridges to the stone placard in front of the water fall.

"This is where you play the song of the royal family" Sheik said, standing to the side. Link took out the ocarina that Saria gave him and started to play Zelda's Lullaby. As the last notes played out, the waterfall slowed to a light trickle and revealed the entrance behind it. "Come on, the waterfall won't stay like this very long" Sheik said as he jumped across the gap into the tunnel. Link quickly followed him and as he landed, the waterfall came roaring back to life.

The light Navi gave off lit up the tunnel as the two boys walked down it until they came out in a large cavern that had a smaller waterfall flowing on the other side.

"Wow... are those the Zora?" Link asked, pointing at one of the fish people that was swimming around in the water and standing at the edge. They were nothing like the Parella and Link thought that they were very beautiful to look at.

"Yeah, that's them" Sheik confirmed. "There's another Zora village at the bottom of the cavern and an audience chamber at the top of the water fall." Sheik pointed at the waterfall on the other side of the chamber.

"How do we get up there?" Link said, he didn't think they could swim up it.

"There should be a set of stairs leading up." Sheik said. The pair explored the chamber, finally asking a Zora where they could find the king.

"Just head that way and you'll see the steps that leads up to King Zora" The Zora told them, pointing them in the right direction. Link thanked him then ran after Sheik to the stairs. Up at the up, sitting on top of a small water fall sat the fattest Zora either boy had ever seen.

Link stood up on the small stage across from King Zora, clearing his throat.

"Excuse me" He said, trying to get the Zora monarch's attention. King Zora ignored the boy, looking out above his head.

"Oh, my dear, sweet Princess Ruto. Where has she gone? I'm so worried" He murmured. Link and even Navi tried to get his attention, but the Zora continued to ignore him. Link turned and looked down at Sheik.

"I don't think he's going to listen until he hears from Princess Ruto" The other blond said with a shrug.

"Well, we should see if anyone knows where she is" Navi suggested.

* * *

An hour later, all the two boys and fairy found out that no one knew where their princess was. One Zora even mentioned they searched as far as Lake Hyila. They even sent a messenger to Lake Floria to ask the Parella if the willful Zora princess had run away to their lake.

In that time, Link and Sheik had also played a diving game with a Zora who was standing at the top of the large waterfall in the cavern. Navi's complaints about Link taking time out of his quest to play a silly game died when the offered prize was a Silver Zora scale, a type of scale that would allow Link to hold his breath longer under water. The fairy decided it would be useful on their quest in the end.

After Link won his scale, explored an underwater tunnel that took him to Lake Hyila. It was there he and Navi finally found a clue to where Princess Ruto might be.

"Look what I found at the lake" Link said when he returned to Zora's Domain, showing Sheik the bottle. Inside was a note supposedly written by the Zora princess that read:

`Help me. I'm waiting for you inside Lore Jabu-Jabu's belly... PS: Don't tell my father! `

"We have to show this to King Zora. Maybe he'll finally talk to us" Sheik said. The boys raced back to the audience chamber and after telling King Zora they had found a clue to Ruto's whereabouts, finally got his attention. Link handed the bottle to King Zora who took the letter out.

"This letter! It's from Princess Ruto!" The king said in happy shock as he studied the hand writing. "Let's see...She's inside Lore Jabu-Jabu? That's not possible. Our guardian god, Lord Jabu-Jabu, would never eat my daughter!" the Zora proclaimed loudly. He then got a thoughtful look on his face."But... since those two strange women, Kotake and Koume, came here, Lord Jabu-Jabu has been a little green around the gills."

That struck a chord in Link; it was something important he knew. He vaguely remembered the Great Deku Tree mentioning that two witches from the desert had cursed him. Link couldn't remember if Darunia had mentioned anything about anybody from the desert but he was seeing a pattern. Whoever these two women where, this Kotake and Koume, were after the Spiritual stones he was collecting. Which made in his mind Zelda and Navi wrong, it wasn't Ganondorf after the stones, it was these witches!

"The evidence seems clear." King Zora continued speaking. "Of course, you'll go find Ruto. You can pass through here to the altar of Lord Jabu-Jabu inside Zora's Fountain" The far Zora started to butt-scoot over, making room for the boys to enter the fountain, grunting with each inch he moved. "Now, you keep the bottle the letter was in. Take it respectfully! Please find my dear Princess Ruto immediately."

Sheik and Link ran up to the entrance of the Zora Fountain area, dashing passed King Zora.

"Lord Jabu-Jabu enjoys fresh fish" King Zora called after them.

* * *

"Oh Farore... I have to go in that thing!?" Link said, pointing to the giant whale-like creature that was in front of them.

"I... think so. The letter said Princess Ruto is inside" Sheik said.

"Of course you have to go." Navi said. "You have to get the last Spiritual Stone" The fairy flew in the direction of Jabu-Jabu, thinking Link was right behind her.

"Sheik, I need you to go back to your mom and tell her it's these Kotake and Koume people who's trying to take over" Link whispered to Sheik. "They're the ones who cursed and killed the Great Deku Tree and I bet they are the ones who caused all the trouble for the Gorons"

"Are you sure?" Sheik asked, he had been prepared to enter the Demi-god with Link. The other boy nodded, he could rescue Ruto by himself, and someone had to stop the witches. "Alright, just be careful"

"I will" Link promised. He watched Sheik teleport away then scooped up a fish into his new bottle.

"What took you so long?" Navi asked when Link finally joined her.

"I just asked Sheik to go back home" Link said. He wasn't about to tell her what he said to Sheik, the fairy still believed it was Ganondorf behind everything. "And to get a fish like King Zora said."

"Well good, we don't need Sheik here. This is *your* quest" Navi said, her whole body dipping in midair as it she was nodding. Link scowled at Navi, he hated how single-minded she was, and opened the bottle. The fish fell out as he turned the bottle over and as it flopped on the ground, Jabu-Jabu's bulbous eyes zeroed in on it. The guardian god suddenly opened its mouth and started to suck in air the get the tiny fish.

Not only did the fish fly in, but so did Navi and Link with a yell.

* * *

Sheik did as Link asked and teleported home to his mother where he quickly told Impa what was going on. The Sheikah leader cursed and headed toward her room, the door slamming. She returned a few minutes later, wearing a tight, form fitting Sheikah female armor.

"Stay here and look after your brother" Impa ordered Sheik. "I have to go warn the King" she drew a Deku nut from her pouch and threw it to the ground, teleporting out to the castle. Sheik bit his lip, there was something big going on, he had never seen his mother so worried. And he knew Link was worried about was going on at the castle.

"Kain, go stay with Anju" Sheik said to his little brother.

"But Sheik, Mom told us to stay here" Kain said, looking up at the older boy. Sheik gently clasped the back of Kain's neck and leaned his forehead against his brothers.

"I have to help Link" Sheik said softly, ruby red eyes staring into Kain's matching ones.

"Just... just be careful big brother" Kain whispered, pulling away and running out of the house to hide with Anju. Sheik took a deep breath and took out a Deku nut from the pouch on his hip. He had only been to Hyrule Castle once and he hoped he was still able to teleport there. The nut hit the floor and caused a bright flash and when the light cleared, Sheik was gone.

* * *

Link threaded in the water as he watched Ruto swim away, heading out of the fountain area back to her father. He had done as King Zora had asked and saved the Princess of the Zoras. And boy wasn't she an annoying, spoiled brat! Still, she had been worried about her mother's stone, which had been the last spiritual stone he had been looking for.

"Well, we have the last one, let s start headed back to Hyrule Castle and give the stones to Princess Zelda" Navi said, satisfied that their work was almost done.

"Navi... what did she mean by 'engaged'?" Link asked as he swam for the shallow water.

"Err... just never mind that" Navi said with a slight nervous laugh. "It's nothing important." Link looked up confused at Navi but let the subject dropped, they had a long way to go to get out of Zora's Domain and then back to the castle. The blond boy had a bad feeling about giving the stones to Zelda, something telling him that he shouldn't...

* * *

Ganondorf growled as he brought his sword up to block the spear of one of the Hyrule Castle guards, covering the backs of his Gerudos as they tried to get the castle servents out.

The last treaty meeting with King Dhanphos had been going well, Ganondorf had been setting up a trading route so his people could get fresh food and other comforts from outside the desert in exchange for guarding the desert boarders and more importantly, allowing his girls to become guards in prison deep in the desert.

That was until all hell broke loose, the two witches known as Kotake and Koume had teleported into the throne room in a flash of fire and ice, cackling loudly. Ganondorf recognized the two; long ago they were two Gerudo that had learned the secrets of magic. They turned against the tribe and were exiled when they tried to kill one of his ancestors.

The two witch sisters had cast a spell throughout the room that hit every guard and knight within the castle, bringing time under their control and had their new minions start attacking. King Dhanphos would have been killed if it wasn't for the timely intervention of a Sheikah woman who teleported into the room and saved the king's life. Ganondorf had lost track of them some time ago, busy trying to defend himself from the processed guards.

"I think that's all of them Ganny" Nabooru said, standing back to back with her cousin. "The Sheikah guards managed to save a good bit."

"We need to retreat then, the Sheikah woman who saved the king should have gotten him and the princess out" Ganondorf said, holding up a hand and shooting a bolt of lightning into the guard's chest, knocking the man back several feet. The two desert dwellers turned and ran out of the destroyed throne room, hurrying down hallways toward the front gate. The pair came halting to a stop as they saw the Sheikah woman from before with a small child who was holding a harp and an ocarina.

"Wait, you re the Sheikah woman from before, where is Dhanphos?" Ganondorf asked, noticing the blood on the woman's hands.

Impa looked up at the Gerudo king with a grimace.

"He's dead, Zelda turned on her father and killed him" She said. "I didn't suspect her to be a part of this and I allowed her to get close to her father."

"Zelda... is a part of his madness?" Ganondorf asked in surprise. Impa nodded and pulled Sheik closer to her.

"We need to flee" She said, kicking open the lever that kept the gate closed and running toward the stables. Ganondorf and Nabooru looked at each other then ran out, Ganon whistling loudly. A moment later, a large black stead came crashing out of the stables and raced to his master. Ganondorf climbed onto his back and Nabooru climbed up behind him. He trusted his girls to escape from the castle and did the same, riding off with his cousin to safety.

* * *

Link became very uneasy the closer they got to Hyrule Castle Town. Despite it being the middle of the day, he could see that the drawbridge was up like it was at night. On top of that, storm clouds were building up above them looking ready to bust with rain.

"I wonder why the bridge is up" Navi said as they finally came to a stop. "Hey! Let us in!" At Navi's yell, the bridge started to lower, making the fairy think that whoever was control it heard her. As it finished lowering, the sound of running horses came. First came Ganondorf and Nabooru on a black horse that raced by quickly without stopping as Link dove to the side to keep from being ran over. "Wait! Wasn't that Ganondorf?!" Navi asked as she flew straight up.

Link got up from off the ground and turned as he heard another horse coming. His eyes widen as this time a white horse rode past with Impa on its back and Sheik sitting in front of her on it. Sheik had a terrified look on his face and he suddenly tossed something in Link's direction. The object, whatever it was, flew over Link and Navi, landing in the moat. As the two horses disappeared out of site, a group of Hyrule castle guards and knights rode past on horses giving chase.

'Wait! This is just like my dream!' Link thought in alarm.

"Heeheehee. It seems they got away Koume" A crackling old voice said from behind Link, causing him to turn around. Hovering above him was a pair of old women on brooms, both with green skin and white hair.

"Heeheehee. That they did Kotake" The second old witch, Koume said. "Ho! You, boy! Which way did the Gerudo man and Sheikah woman go?" She asked, pointing at Link.

Link shook his head and reached behind him, taking his Kokiri sword and Deku shield in hand.

"Heeheehee" Both witches laughed, starting to circle around Link in the air.

"He has spunk sister" Kotake said, looking at the blond elf.

"He thinks he had defeat us but he's just a little boy" Koume said with amusement. She held up her hand and gathered fireball together in it. "HO!" Koume yelled as she threw it at Link, hitting him in the chest.

"Ahh" Link yelped in pain as he was knocked onto his back. The fireball only burnt him slightly but it had been enough to make him very wary.

Koume sniffed and looked at her sister. "He's no concern to us"

"We should get back. We've lost our prey... for now" Kotake said. "We have to crown the new... queen" The sister witches crackled loudly again and zoomed off quickly on their brooms toward the castle.

"New... queen?" Navi asked as they disappeared from site, the sky clearing of the clouds from before. "Did... did they mean Zelda? That would make them on our side wouldn't it? Why did they attack you!?"

"I don't think they were good Navi" Link said as he got up off the ground, putting his sword and shield back into place. "Now will you believe me about Zelda? There is something... off about her. They were the ones who cursed the Great Deku Tree!"

"But... but..." Navi sputtered in shock, flying after Link as he ran over to the moat and looked in. There, at the bottom, was the object that Sheik threw to him. Link leapt into the cold waters and swam down, grabbing it and holding it up once he surfaced. It was a dark blue ocarina with a little tri-force symbol on the mouth piece. "That's the Ocarina of Time!"

Link didn't listen to Navi as his vision when white, both he and his fairy partner dragged into a vision.

* * *

`Link, if you have the Ocarina of Time now then everything has gone very wrong' Link heard Sheik's voice in his head as he watched an image of Sheik standing in front of an alter. 'After I told my mother about the witches, she left to warn the king... and I followed her. The Royal Family has two important instruments that the witches couldn't get their hands on.'

In Sheik's hands was the ocarina and a golden harp.

'The Ocarina of Time is one of the keys to opening the Scared Realm. The Harp belonged to my people's goddess Hyila. Link... you were right about Zelda. Right after I found the instruments, my mother teleported into the room with the King. At the same time Zelda busted into the room and ran to her father... She killed him! While the king was holding her, she drew out a dagger and stabbed him in the heart.'

Sheik shook his head, tears in his eyes. 'Link, the laugh she gave was so cold... so evil. The witches appeared then, congratulating her on a good job and calling her the queen. Mother saw me by that time and grabbed me, running. It's up to you to keep the Tri-force from Zelda and the witches.'

Sheik took the harp and seemed to look at Link.

'This is the song you need to open the Door of Time' Sheik played out the Song of Time on the Goddess Harp. As he finished, everything started to go white again. 'Please Link... be safe...'

* * *

Link came too again, standing on the shore of the moat.

"Oh goddess... she... Zelda... but she couldn't..." Navi said softly, shaking her head.

"She did... and now we have to make sure she doesn't do any more harm" Link said with determination, crossing over the bridge into the town. As he walked through, he could hear the people that lived there talking. They knew something had happen at the castle but wasn't sure what. Link found the path that lead to the Temple of time and entered its large doors. "Wow..."

Link looked around the large room, there were pillages at the edge and in the middle of the floor was a large raised platform that had a strange symbol on it. He could hear singing in the background; somewhere someone was singing the Song of Time. He saw the same alter from his vision/dream from Sheik and raced up to it.

"Ye who ones three spiritual stones, stand with the Ocarina of Time and play the Song of Time" Link read from the altar.

"Well, I guess we do as it's says" Navi said, her voice very quite. Link nodded and took out the blue ocarina, slowly playing the song he could hear behind him. As the last note played, there was a flash and suddenly Kokiri Emerald, the Goron Ruby and the Zora Sapphire was in the air, slowly floating down to hover above the indents that matched them on the altar. The blue door behind the altar started to glow and slowly parted, revealing the chamber behind it.

Link and Navi slowly went through the doors, looking around the new room.

"Link... isn't that?" Navi asked, stopping for a second then racing over to the sword that was in a pedestal in the middle of the chamber. "It's that legendary blade, the Master Sword!"

Link had never heard of the sword before but he felt... compelled to touch it... to pull it out. He wrapped his hands around the hilt and with a grunt, pulled it out of the pedestal a moment later. Link could have sworn he heard a voice in his head that said.

'Not yet Master, you are too young'. It was the last thing he heard before his world went black.

"Heeheehee" Kotake and Koume cackled as they appeared with Zelda between them. "I guess the boy was useful after all"

"I knew he would be able to get us into the chamber" Zelda said with a halty look. "It was only a matter of time" She said as they entered the Scared Realm now that the final key had been drawn. "There it is... the Tri-force"

In the middle of the room shone the gold relic of the goddess, drawing Zelda closer.

"After so long... it's finally mine" Zelda said in a dreamy voice, reaching up to touch it. "I wish to rule the world!" she said as she laid her hand on it. But Zelda s wish was never granted as the tri-force flashed in split into three separate pieces. The bottom left piece, the Tri-Force of Wisdom, flew into Zelda, making a mark appear on the back of her hand. At the same time, the Tri-force of Power and Courage disappeared, making Zelda scream loudly in anger.

* * *

Rauru, the Sage of Light, watched as Link floated in the middle of a crystal.

"Sleep well child... you will be need again once you are old enough to wield the Master Sword" He said as he turned away, he could already feel the Scared Realm changing into something dark and twisted, he had to make sure the Sage's chamber was secured.

"He'll do just find Rauru, the spirit inside the sword would not have let him draw the blade if he was not worthy" Fado the Sage of Wind said as Rauru walked toward the Kokiri and Zora standing in the chamber with him.

"Until then, we'll watch over him until he awakes" The Zora male beside Fado said. Mako the Sage of Earth, looked down at his fellow sage. "Won't we"

"Yes, and when he awakes, we'll continue to pray to the goddess to give the Master Sword its power" Fado agreed.

"Thank you my friends." Rauru said with a smile. "I must secure the chamber then do what I can to call the other sages to us"

As the three sages spoke, none of them noticed the glow on Link's hand as the Tri-force of courage bonded with him.

* * *

"Destroy the bridge" Ganondorf said as the last of his Gerduo's appeared. "We don't want the Hylians to follow us into the desert"

"What are we going to do Ganon?" Nabooru asked, looking up at her cousin.

"For now, we'll have to go back to our old ways. Zelda is our enemy now, but only her and the witches Kotake and Koume. The rest of the people are innocent so we shall refrain from killing them." Ganondorf said tensely. "We will fight against them to regain Hyrule's freedom... but I see dark days head for everyone before then"

At that time, Ganondorf's hand started to glow as the last piece of the Tri-force, Power, came to rest with him.

* * *

Author note: First off, let me apologize for taking 4 years to get this chapter out. I don't have an good excuse other than I had a really bad case of writer's block for a long time and my life was really, really hectic for a while so writing wasn't on my mind. I was working at a place that I didn't enjoy anymore and it impacted my writing. But, I've gotten a new job in the last year and I've been working on and off on this and three other stories since then.

Another thing that happen was Skyward Sword came out. It added more background to the myth of the series and I had to rethink a few of my ideas. It didn't change too much on what I had planed and as you can see in this chapter, I built Hyrule up more on the new places and races that was introduced, much like I did with the Minish.

Anywho, the first half of Link's adventure is over. And we've seen how Zelda and Ganon's fates had been switched, making her the bad guy and him the good. Now we're heading for the second half of the game.

And if anyone does wonder, no Fi is not going to come out of her sword. It's always been hinted that the Master Sword chooses it's master which we now know it's Fi who does it. I figured that she would speak to Link just this one time to tell him he's not ready. Fado and Make won't really show up again either, they gotta fullfill their role in their temples once Link wakes up.


	8. An Old friend & a ghostly grave keeper

The Switch of Fate By: USA Tiger

Disclamier: The characters of The Legend of Zelda series belong to Nintendo.

Chapter 8

Rauru watched as Mako and Fado disappeared in a flash of ice blue and light green lights. They had informed him the day before that Link, the chosen Hero of Time, was close to waking. Since then, the three sages had worked quickly to prepare for the boy and his fairy's awaking after seven long years.

Those years had not been kind to Hyrule. With the murder of her father, Zelda had taken control over the throne with the help of the two witches Kotake and Koume. Both Hyrule Castle and the town surrounding it had been destroyed, everyone who managed to escape running to Kakariko Village while Zelda had a new castle, more like a tower, built in the old castle's place. In Kakariko Village, all the Sheikah had left, leaving space for the people who escaped the castle town to live while the shadow elves retreated to their other hidden villages. The Sheikah did what they could to combat Zelda and her forces but bit by bit, Hyrule had been corrupted.

Lake Hyila was now dried up and the all forests were overrun by monsters. Both Zora's Domain and Lake Zora were recently frozen and who knew what Lake Floria looked like at this point. Death Mountain had a ring of fire around its top that didn't bode well for anyone.

Still, Link would be awaking any minute now, ready to put things to right while he awake his fellow sages of Fire, Forest, Water and Spirit as Impa already knew she was the Sage of Shadow. Rauru turned to the teen laying on the floor of the chamber. He was dressed in a forest green tunic and hat, styled after the Kokiri tunic he wore as a child. The tunic and the boots were a gift from Fado who returned to his fellow Kokiri and had them make them. Mako on the other hand took the old Zora scale Link and had them fashion into earrings, which had a metallic blue sheen to them once they were done. Complete with the white shirt and breeches and the fingerless gauntlets they found, Link managed to look impressing.

Rauru's ears perked up as he heard Link groan softly.

"Link, wake up Link, the chosen one" Rauru called, smiling softly as Link's blue eyes fluttered up then sat up with a soft groan. Navi woke up as well, her wings fluttered before she rose up in the air, a blue light surrounding her.

"Who... who are you?" Link said, jerking slightly as he heard his voice. It was deeper than he remembered it being, what had happen to him? "Where am I?"

"I am Rauru, one of the ancient Sages. Ages ago, we ancient Sages built the Temple of Time to protect the entrance to the Sacred Realm. This is the Chamber of Sages, inside the Temple of Light, situated in the very center of the Sacred Realm, is the last stronghold against Zelda's evil forces." Rauru explained as Link picked himself off the floor. "The Master Sword, the evil-destroying sword that you pulled out of the Pedestal of Time, was the final keep to the Sacred Realm. Link... don't be alarmed. Look at yourself!"

Link blinked at the command and looked down, letting out a yelp as he realized he was a long further from the floor than he was use too. He looked at his hands and down his front before turning to look at his back over his shoulder. Navi bounced in the air as she looked over her charge.

"Look Link! You're big now!" She said "You've grown up!" Link just looked at himself in shock that should be impossible! Well, impossible if he was a Kokiri, but since he started this journey, he had begun to suspect that he was anything but. He was lost in his thoughts for a few moments until he realized that Rauru was speaking again.

"... old enough, the time has come for you to awaken as the Hero of Time! But remember" Rauru said, gravely looking Link. "Thought you opened the Door of Time in the name of peace, Zelda, the false queen of Hyrule, used it to enter this forbidden Sacred Realm."

"False queen?" Navi asked. "But... but the Great Deku Tree... and then that Sheikah boy said..."

"Zelda did indeed kill her adopted father seven years ago" Rauru confirmed, making Navi sag, Link had been right then when he told her they couldn't trust the princess.

"Adopted?" Link asked, making Rauru nod.

"The queen had been the wife to King Dhanphos's head knight but the marriage was known to very few. When the knight was killed during the war, his majesty offered to marry her so the child would not be accused of being born out of wedlock" He explained. "He treated Zelda as his own, even giving her the scared name used by the royal line. The queen died when Zelda was barely a year old from an attack on the castle, it was what prompted the king to end the war and unite Hyrule once more.

"And now that Zelda has obtained the Triforce from the Temple of Light and used its power, she has become the Queen of Evil. Her evil power has radiated from the temples of Hyrule and in seven short years, transformed Hyrule into a world of monsters. My power has little influence here in the Scared Realm, namely this chamber. But.. but there is still hope. The powers of the remaining sages are out there, sleeping. When the powers of all the sages are awakened, the Sages Seal will contain all of Zelda's even power in the void of the realm."

Rauru straighten his back and looked the young man in front of him in the eyes. "I, Rauru, am one of the Sages and your power to fight with the Sages makes you the Hero of Time! The Hero chosen by the Master Sword!" Rauru reached into his robe and took out a small golden medallion with the same symbol he remembered seeing on the floor of the Temple of Time. "Keep my spirit with you. Find the other sages and add their might and power to yours" He handed the medallion to Link to looked at it for a moment then tucked it into his pouch.

Suddenly a circle of blue surrounded Link's feet and teleported him and Navi out of the chamber. A moment later both the now teenage boy and the fairy were standing in the chamber where he drew the Master Sword 7 years prior.

* * *

"Link... we're back in the Temple of Time. But have seven years really passed?" Navi said, flying to look at down at Link. "I don't think you'll be able to use some of the weapons you found as a kid." Link rolled his eyes, that was obvious. "Let s get out of here!"

Link nodded and stepped down off the platform that held the sword's pedestal. He stopped before he reached the door... he had the feeling someone was... watching him. He grabbed the hilt of the Master Sword and drew it and his shield, turning around to face whoever was behind him.

"I've been waiting for you... Hero of Time" A slight muffled male voice said as a figure stepped out of the shadows. Link looked slightly wary but more curious than anything at the man standing in front of him. Slender but muscular wearing skin tight armor with the Sheikah symbol on his chest. The young man was also wearing a hood that kept most of his golden blond hair back baring the section that was swept in front of his right eye and a mask that hid the lower part of his face. Link looked up into the other's ruby red eyes and realized he had seen them before.

To Link it only felt like a few hours, but he still recognized his friend.

"Sheik?" He asked, lowering his blade finally. The other's eyes seemed to smile before the young man reached up and grasped his mask and pulled it down.

"Link" Sheik said with a grin, he had missed the other boy greatly. "You've grown, I thought Kokiris was unable to grow up" he said teasingly.

"I think I was misinformed about who and what I am" Link said, placing the Master Sword back into its shaft and stepping back up the steps to see Sheik eye to eye. "You ve grown too... what are you doing here?"

Sheik's lips quirked slightly in a sad smile. "I felt it was partly my fault that Zelda and her witches were able to kill the king and take over Hyrule, so I've trained these last seven years to help you on your quest."

"It wasn't either of your faults" Navi said as she flew between them. "Zelda had me tricked, I really thought she right and Ganondorf was after Hyrule and the Triforce. If Link had done as I asked, we would have handed the Spiritual Stones over to her or she would have given us the Ocarina of Time to open the door"

"That's nice of you bug" Sheik said, looking at the blue fairy. "But we still opened the door and I gave Link the final key. So we have to save Hyrule and put it back in the hands of the true royal family. I am to act as a guide for you Link, though I can't enter the temples with you, it's the role of the Hero of Time to awaken the Sages. But I can help outside of the temples."

"Guide how?" Link asked.

"Clues and hints to each temple, I can't tell you straight out how to get to each one, it's part of your test of the Hero to find them on your own. But when you reach each temple, or figure out where it is, I will be able to teach you the scared songs that will allow you to teleport to each temple should you want to return" Sheik said. "There are five temples: one in a deep forest, one on a high mountain, one under a vast lake, one within the house of the dead and one inside a goddess of the sand"

Link repeated the locations softly under his breath; it gave him an idea where he should look.

"Thank you Sheik" Link said to Sheik who nodded and pulled his mask up over his face.

"One of the Sages is waiting in the Forest Temple, a girl who I'm sure you know. But you'll be unable to enter the temple at this time." Sheik said. "I suggest heading for Kakariko Village, there you will find something that can help within the grave of the old grave digger. Be safe Link, Hyrule is a lot more dangerous now than it was when we were children." Sheik stepped back and took out a Deku nut, tossing it onto the floor, sending up a bright flash of night that blinded Link for a second as the other blond teleported away.

* * *

Link decided that he hated ReDeads more than he ever hated Dodongos. They were creepy as well and to be honest, he was a bit afraid of them. Those screams they made... Link shivered slightly as he remembered the screams the ReDead made. It was also a shock to see what had happen to Hyrule Castle Town, everything was destroyed and there was that large tower like castle where Hyrule Castle use to be...

He looked out at Hyrule Field; it didn't look all that different than it did seven years ago.

"Wow, those clouds look ominous" Navi said, looking upward to the sky where dark clouds hung. "I swear... I can almost feel the evil presents in them"

"Let s just go to Kakariko" Link said, running in the direction of Death Mountain and the village under it. The run didn't seem to take as long as it did when he was child and guessed it had to be the new longer legs he had now. Once in the village, he felt relieve to see that Kakariko Village was mostly the same as it was before. There were a couple of buildings he could see and remembered the builders that had been running around his first visit to the village.

He did notice that a lot of the people he remembered from his youth from Hyrule Castle Town now lived here and that he couldn't see a single red eye person in the crowds.

"The Sheikah must have all left" Navi said, noticing it as well. "Zelda would have wanted to kill them, they must have run to save themselves" Link nodded in understanding and started to wonder, he remembered that the graveyard was in the back of the village.

* * *

Link watched the ghost composer Flat disappeared in a flash then looked at the headstone that was in between Flat and his brother Sharp's graves. He hadn't found the grave keepers gave yet and had been making his rounds to each grave to find it. At the head of the graveyard, which where he was now, he encountered two ghostly brothers who had been composers for the Royal Family.

"Well, I think we should do what they said, anything from the royal family should be a big help" Navi said. Link nodded and stood on top of the tri-force symbol on the ground, playing Zelda's Lullaby. The sky seemed to darken and the rain started to come down harder. Link looked around worried only to be knocked back as lightening strike the large gravestone in front of him, knocking him down with a yell.

Link sat up and looked at the space where the grave had been a moment before. The grave was only a pile of rubble surrounding a hole in the ground. He got up, brushing the dirt off his legs and tunic then step closer to the hole.

"What do you think is down there?" Link asked.

"I don't know" Navi said. "Only way to find out is to jump down" Link hopped into the hole down to the chambers down below. Link quickly found out what was down in the chambers... more ReDeads. Link shivered as he dodged one of the screaming monsters, panting as he dove into the tunnle after them.

"I hate those things" He complained, shuddering in fear.

"Link, look!" Navi yelled, flying over to a large, grave like monument. Link followed over and read the words inscribed out loud.

"The rising sun well eventually set. A newborn's life will fade. From sun to moon, moon to sun, give peaceful rest to the living dead." Link read then saw the song itself. He took the Ocarina of Time out and copied what he saw on the stone. As the last notes rang out he swore he felt the power from the song and unknowing to him, it changed from day to nighttime outside.

"Link look, there's more to the poem" Navi said, hovering over the rest of the inscription. "Restless souls wander where they don't belong, bring them calm with the Sun's Song. Maybe you can use the song against the ReDead"

"Let's go try it" Link said, giddy with the idea he would be safe from the undead outside of the chamber. He played the Sun Song again and grinned as the ReDead froze in place once the last notes were played.

"Come, let s get out of here" Navi suggested, Link couldn't argue with that and ran past the ReDead quickly in case they started moving again. "Wow, it's night time already! That song must have a stronger power than I thought" The fairy said as Link climbed out of the hole. Link agreed as he brushed the dirt off of himself and looked around. He only had a few more graves to check for the grave keeper s.

* * *

The Kokiri raised teen panted as he ran after Dampe, the ghost was fast! He saw the door ahead of them start to close and he dove under it, rolling out of the way to keep from being crushed by the stone door. His stocking cap fell off in the process, making Link reach back under the door to grab it before the door could close all the way.

"That was close' Navi said as Link put his cap back on. Link just grinned; it had been a bit fun. He climbed onto the platform that Dampe was floating over.

"You were very quick to be able to keep up with me!" The ghost said in a gravelly voice. "You're the first person to ever make it! You can have my treasure I found when I was alive, it's called the Hookshot! Doesn't that sound cool! I'm sure it will help you." Dampe pointed to a treasure chest. Link opened the chest and grinned as he saw the hookshot at the bottom of the chest.

"Thanks Dampe" Link said as he placed it in his pouch Sheik gave him when they first met.

"I live here now, so come back again sometime" Dampe said, waving before disappearing in a flash of fire.

"I bet this is what Sheik was talk about, now we can get into the Forest Temple" Navi said as they exited the grave though the only door. Link blinked as they ended up in the windmill that was in front of the graveyard in Kakariko. Down below was a balding man that was playing a phonograph with an angry look on his face. Link shared a look with Navi then jumped down from the platform to the turning wheel below. The blond stumbled as he landed; the slow moving wheel had thrown off his balance a bit, then rode it around to the man.

"Sir? Are you ok?" Link asked as he stepped off the spinning wheel in front of Guru-Guru.

"Grrrrrr! I'll never forget what happened on that day, seven years ago! Grrrrr!" Guru-Guru said with a loud angry growl, pumping the crank of his music box even faster. "It's all that ocarina kid's fault! Next time he comes around here, I'm gonna mess him up!"

"Ocarina kid?" Link repeated. "What happen seven years ago?"

"A punk kid with a ocarina came in one day and played a song that started to make it rain in the windmill" Guru-Guru said, his eyes all but growling in his anger. "It made the windmill spin to fast, it drained the well. Grrrrr!"

Link became curious and took out the Ocarina of Time front his pouch.

"Like this one?" He asked, holding it up so the older man could see it.

"What!? You've got that ocarina! What the heck!?" Guru-Guru said, both confused and angry at the same time. "That reminds me of that time, seven years ago! I'll never forget this song!" He started turning the crank again on the music box, playing out the tune slowly. Link couldn't help but repeat the song, wondering if it would really make it rain inside. There was a slow rumble of thunder and flash of lightening as it started to rain. The wheel in the middle that turned the windmills arms started to spin faster and faster, making the arms spin quickly outside as well.

Guru-Guru screamed in anger and chased Link and Navi around the windmill for a moment before he ran out of breath. He cursed at the teen loudly as Link made a break for the door and ran out.

"Don't you ever come back or I will mess you up!"

* * *

"Do you know a place where I can stay the night?" Link asked one of the villagers. It was late in the evening and he wanted to get some sleep.

"Oh, the lady in that house there lets travelers sleep for a small fee" The villager said, pointing to one of the houses in the front of the village. Link smiled in thanks and ran over to the house.

"Hello?" He asked as he opened the door.

"Oh, good evening dear" The woman at the stove said, turning around. Link just managed not to react, the woman was... not very pretty looking. "Looking for a place to sleep? We don't get new visiters very often"

"Yes, please" Link said as he got over his shock from the woman's looks.

"Well its 20 rupees a night. You can have the bed next to that poor man over there" She said, pointing to a set of bunk beds on the other side of the room. Link gave her a red rupee and turned toward the beds. He gasped softly as he recognized the man sleeping on the beds.

"Is that Talon?" Navi asked as she noticed the man as well.

"Oh him?" The woman said, glancing in Talon's direction. "I think he use to work at the ranch but lost his job. He's always just lazing around, morning, noon and night. He's an awfully carefree guy during such hard times" Link nodded slowly and walked over to the beds.

"Talon?" He shook Talon's shoulder, trying to wake him up. But Talon just kept sleeping, mumbling about Malon and her worrying.

"I don't think he's going to wake up" Navi said as Link gave up and sat down on the bed he rented for the night. "I bet if we had that demon bird of yours, we could wake him up that way"

"Cluck isn't a demon bird. You just don't like him because he tried to eat you" Link said in amusement as he laid down. "... What do you think happen to him? Why is Talon here and not at his ranch?"

"I don't know." Navi said as she landed on Link's chest, her light going out.

"I hope Malon is ok... I'm going to check on the ranch tomorrow" Link said softly.

"Link, we don't have time for that. We need to get to the forest temple." Navi said with a shake of her head. Link scowled at the fairy.

"No, we can make time to check on Malon and the horses to make sure they are alright" He said firmly. Navi sighed; she already knew Link was not going to change his mind over this. She just hoped that this side trip wouldn't hurt them in the long run.

* * *

The next morning, Link and Navi left Kakariko Village and trekked across Hyrule Field to Lon Lon Ranch. The sky seemed to be overcast over the ranch and everything was quite baring a few soft neighs from the horses. Link peeked around the corner at the corral where the horses were kept during the day. He could see the old ranch hand, whose name he never really gotten, standing in front of the gate which was locked so the horses were trapped inside.

"Didn't they get to run outside the corral before?" Link whispered to Navi.

"Yes" Navi said as they ducked out of site. "It's like they're in prison now. I didn't see Malon, let s check inside." The pair checked the house first but Link didn't find any clues to where Malon might be. Next he checked the stable where he hit the jackpot.

He almost didn't recognize her at first, like Sheik Malon had grown up into a pretty teenage girl.

"Hello?" He said, trying to get her attention. Malon, who was cleaning a stall startled at the sound of his voice.

"Oh, a visitor! It's been a long time since we've had a visitor here. Where did you come from?" Malon said, her voice was soft and to Link, it seemed like she wasn't the spunky girl he met when they were children. Link didn't get a chance to answer as the girl continued. "Since Zelda became queen, the people in the Castle Town have gone. Places have been ruined and monsters are wondering everywhere."

"What happen here? What happen to Talon?" Link asked. Malon smiled sadly, gripping the broom she was holding tightly.

"Mr. Ingo took over the ranch 5 years ago; he's just using it to gain Zelda's favor. Everyone... everyone seems to be turning evil. Dad... he was kicked out of the ranch by Mr. Ingo. He let me stay but if I disobey Mr. Ingo, he will treat the horses so badly. So there's nothing I can do." Malon said, reaching up to wipe the tears from her eyes. She missed her father and how much fun it use to be running their family's ranch. Lon Lon Ranch had been in their family for years. (1) Her ancestors use to only raise cows and provide milk for all the villages but Talon told her that his father had a way with horses and soon the ranch raised the finest in all of Hyrule. Their few cows were locked up in their barn and their horses were locked in the corral during the day, all thanks to Mr. Ingo.

Link's blue eyes harden; he was going to make this right. He was going to make sure the ranch was given back to Talon and Malon.

"Don't worry, everything will work out" Link told her, squeezing her shoulder in comfort and heading outside to confront Ingo. Malon watched the boy leave; there was something... very familiar about him.

* * *

Author note: And now we begin the second part of the game. With the new information from Skyward Sword, the only way Zelda could be evil if she wasn't a blood descendant of the Zelda from SS. Therefore, this Zelda was adopted by the king.

(1) In Minish Cap, there was a Lon Lon Ranch and these versions of Malon and Talon had to be the ancestors of the OOT Malon and Talon. The MC Lon Lon Ranch only had cows and one horse and between that time and now, they had to have started to raise more horses than cows.

And on a second note, I'm looking for a beta to proof read this fic before I put it out. Lots of people have been pointing out my grammer sucks in all my fics. It was never my best subject in school. So if anyone would like to beta for me, drop me a line.


	9. Saving the ranch and back to the forest

The Switch of Fate By: USA Tiger

Disclamier: The characters of The Legend of Zelda series belong to Nintendo.

Chapter 9

Ingo smirked as he watched the green clad teenage boy walk up to him, a glint in those blue eyes.

'There's a sucker born every minute' the oily Hylain thought to himself, clasping his hands behind his back. This was a young man that wanted to prove something, meaning the teen was an easy picking for rupees.

"There are some people in Kakariko spreading that I cheated Talon out of the ranch" Ingo said when Link was close enough. Navi didn't remember hearing anyone say Talon was cheated, only that he might have been fired.

"Well didn't you" Link said, standing in front of Ingo, one hand on his hip.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Ingo said with a snort, reaching up to stroke his mustache. "That Talon was weak. I poured so much energy into this place! I don't want any strangers like you saying anything bad about me"

Ingo draped his arm over Link's shoulder, drawing the teen closer.

"Listen, her Majesty Zelda recognized my obvious talents and gave the ranch to me!" He said, waving his free hand at the enclosed field. Zelda had nothing to do with Ingo taking control of the ranch; it was all his own work. "I will raise a fine horse and win recognition from our beautiful queen"

Link grit his teeth and shoved Ingo's arm off of his shoulders, feeling dirty just from the man touching him.

"Say young man, why don't you ride one of my fine horses?" Ingo offered, touching his chest. "Just to show you I'm not a bad guy. It will only take a small fee"

"Sure" Link said, hoping he could break the horse out of the locked gates. Ingo smirked as he thought 'hook, line and sinker' as he turned around and unlocked the gate. Once Link paid the requested price, he waved Link in before him into the corral then locked it back behind him. Link scowled and turned away when he saw what Ingo did, looking out at the horses in front of him. He looked around, he hadn't a clue how to ride a horse and no idea which one to chose.

A neighing noise caught Link's attention as he wondered around, making Link turn and his eyes widen as he spied a familiar looking horse.

"Is that Epona?" Navi asked as she noticed as well. Link grinned and ran toward the dark red color mare. Epona reared up on her hind legs and pawed her front legs before running a few feet away, looking at Link's warily. Link frowned, Epona didn't seem to remember him at all and why should she after seven years. How could he get his friend to come to him? An idea lit up in his head and he took out his ocarina, gently playing the song Malon taught him.

Epona's ears perked up as she turned the tune, she hadn't heard it in a long time. The green clan man reminded her of the little boy that played the same song... maybe it was him! The horse neighed again and ran over to Link, nudging her nose under his hand, making him laugh as he stopped playing and started to gently stroke her nose.

"You do remember me" Link said with a smile. Epona nickered and swung her head around to look at her back. Link watched in confusion as Epona did it again.

"I think she wants you to get on" Navi said. Link's eyes lit up and he walked around to the mare's side. He wasn't sure how to get on at first but figured it out quickly, settling himself into the saddle. Epona took off, surprising Link who wasn't ready and fell off. The blond blushed, he could hear Ingo gawffing in the background, and got back up off the ground quickly. He climbed back onto Epona's back, this time hanging on as she took off.

Epona had no bridle so he learned to steer Epona with his knees while he clung one hand onto Epona's white mane. He whooped as Epona jumped over the practice fences in the corral, grinning as he had the time of his life.

"You're getting better!" Ingo said as Link rode past him. Link grinned and directed Epona over to the man. "Say, how about a little race with me? One lap around the corral with that horse?"

"Sure" Link said, petting Epona's neck fondly. Ingo smirked, leading Link and Epona out of the corral along with a brown horse before locking it again. They lined the horses up then Ingo gave a war cry as he kicked his heels into his horse and took off. "Heya!" Epona neighed and shot off, catching up and then passing Ingo's horse.

Ingo was close on Link and Epona's heels but Link still managed to win the race. Ingo jumped off the horse and stomped his feet, digging his hands into his hair.

"Shoot! If the great Zelda finds out about this humiliation..." Ingo whispered to himself, worrying about himself and what Zelda would think. He turned around and pointed a finger at Link. "Hey you! How about another race!"

"What do we get if we win?" Navi asked, flying up into his face.

"If you win you can... you can keep the horse!" Ingo yelled the first thing he could think of. It was just a random horse, it's not like it was the one he was training just for Zelda.

Ingo switched the brown horse out for a black one that was faster. He would not be humiliated again!

Once again the pair lined up at the starting line, Ingo giving another war cry, kicking Link in the leg then taking off, making the teen grunt in pain.

"Hey you cheater!" Navi yelled. Link growled and nudged his heels into Epona's flanks, who took off after the other horse. Ingo cackled, this time he was going to win!

"Come on you stupid horse, faster" Ingo yelled, kicking the black stallion in the sides. He was almost at the finish line; he would make that little punk pay! At the last minute, Link raced past Ingo and over the finish line, winning the race.

Ingo jumped off the black horse, yelling and throwing a fit once again.

"Ahhhggg! What is up with that horse!?" Ingo yelled, pulling at his hair and looking over at Link. "Is that... is that Epona? How did you tame that wild horse right under my nose! I was going to present that horse to her majesty but I bet it on the race and lost! Shoot!"

Ingo had to think fast, he couldn't let that punk leave with that horse. He couldn't let that punk leave at all! It would get out what happen and he would be humiliated! He calmed down, yes, the boy would stay.

"Heeheehee, as I promised, I'll give the horse to you" Ingo said, twirling his mustache again then ran over to the main gate of the ranch. "However, I'll never let you leave this ranch!" He yelled as he locked the gate up tight, laughing manically.

"Now what do we do?" Navi asked worriedly. Link looked around; the ranch was surrounded by tall wooden walls and the only way out was the gate that Ingo locked. He looked at the wooden walls again, getting an idea.

"Come on Epona" Link said nudging Epona with his knees. The horse nickered, seeming to know what Link wanted and took off, racing full tilt toward the nearest wall.

"Link... Link what are you doing!?" Navi asked as she fly off after them. As Link and Epona neared the wall, the mare took a leap and cleared over the top of the wall, landing in the field outside.

"WOOOO" Link yelled, taking off his hat and waving it around.

* * *

No... no that little punk couldn't have gotten out... This was the thought that ran through Ingo's head over and over again as he stared slack jawed at where Link had escaped with his horse.

'It will get out that I lost... it will get back to the great Zelda...' Ingo thought over and over as he mindlessly walked, dragging his feet, toward the main house.

"Mr. Ingo?" Malon asked softly as the man passed her. Ingo didn't seem to hear her, his only thoughts was on what just happen. The keys that had been in his hand fell out of his limp grip to the grass and he went inside and up to his bed. He laid there for hours, his mind racing until it just seemed to crack and he gave one long scream into the night.

* * *

When the keys were dropped near her, Malon picked them up as Ingo disappeared into the house.

"I wonder what the matter with him is" Malon asked softly, looking down at the keys then at the gate. She smiled and ran over; this may be the only chance that the horses got to run around. The red headed Hylain unlocked main gate then the one to the corral, grinning as the horses neighed happily as they were able to run around freely. She even opened the barn, letting out the Cuccos and the cows, who clucked and mooed happily.

She did notice that her favorite horse Epona was gone... and so was that man in green...

* * *

"Come on, let's go back and make sure Ingo gives the back the ranch to Talon and Malon" Link said, nudging Epona to go.

"I don't think we'll have too" Navi said, flying in front of Link to stop him. "Look, those dark clouds that were above the ranch, they're gone... I think whatever evil was there is gone now" Link turned and looked up as well, seeing the fairy was right. "Let s go to the forest, we've detoured long enough."

Link nodded and turned Epona toward where the forest was, getting across Hyrule was a lot faster with a horse!

Link and Navi arrive around mid afternoon, Link stopping Epona just inside the tree line. He patted her neck and left her to graze as he headed for the tunnel that lead to the Kokiri Forest.

He paused at the lip of the wooden log, how much would have changed in his old village since he had been gone? Would any of the other Kokiris recognize him? Did a new Deku Tree ever spout?

"Come one Link" Navi said softly, nudging his shoulder. She was a bit frightened too; she grew up in the forest, she was afraid to see what happen to her home. Link took a deep breath and stepped inside. Up above, two pair of red eyes watched Link as he traveled into the woods.

"Is that him Brother?" The figure on the right asked the one on the left.

"Yes, that was Link" Sheik said softly. "I was almost afraid he wasn't going to come."

"Oh come on, you always gone on about how great of a Hero Link was going to be. You didn't really doubt him" The other boy said, poking his brother. Sheik chuckled and pushed back at his younger sibling. "So you think he'll awake the Forest Sage and get rid of all the monsters?"

"I know he will" Sheik said, looking over at Kain. "You re just tired of having to go everyday and whip out the creatures in the forest"

"I get tired of doing the kid stuff" Kain said with a pout. "You've got a big important mission helping Link, I feel like I'm not doing enough" Sheik chuckled and wrapped his hand around the back of Kain's neck, pressing his forehead against his brother's.

"you do plenty little brother" He assured the other Sheikah. "Go back to the village and tell the elders Link made it. I have to go meet him at the Forest Temple" Kain nodded, pulling up his face mask then hopped through the trees to get to the Sheikah village deep in the woods. Sheik watched the other leave then turned toward the direction of the Lost Woods and tree hopped to the Scared Grove.

* * *

It was much worse than Link thought it would be. He looked around his old village heartbroken, the grasses around the tree houses were overgrown and there were several monsters as well. Mostly Deku-baba's but he could see a couple of Deku's as well.

"What's wrong with those dekus?" Link asked, watching one that spit a Deku nut at an Octorock in the pond at the other end of the village.

"Hmm" Navi turned to look at the Deku as well. Its leafy head was red instead of green and it cackled madly as it spit another nut. "It's a mad scrub; it's a normal Deku scrub that had gone insane."

"Where is everyone?" Link asked as he looked around again. All he could see were the monsters were the villagers even still alive.

"I don't know... but I sense life forms in the houses" Navi said, floating toward the house that belonged to the triplets known as the Know-It-All Brothers. "Let s ask and see if everyone is alright" Link followed Navi to the house, pushing aside the curtain and ducking his head so it wouldn't hit the top of the door.

"Halt!" "Who goes there?" Two of the four brothers yelled, one holding up a sling-shot pointed at Link while another held a Deku-stick in front of him. A third one stood nearby, holding his fists up.

"Wait brothers... that's not one of the monsters" The fourth and oldest brother said. Link looked relieved to see Alvin, Theodore, Simon, and Dave all alive and well. (1)

"Keewww? It is safe?" A soft voice asked, surprising Link as a Kikwi peeked its head out from behind a chair.

"Yeah... it's just some guy" Alvin said after a minute of studying Link.

"Why is that fairy following you around? And why are you dressed like a Kokiri?" Simon asked, stepping closer to Link. "You're not one of us!" Link felt like he had been punched in the gut, nobody here recognized him.

"No... I'm... from outside the forest" He finally said, trying to get over the lump in his throat.

"You didn't have any problems entering the forest, mister?" Theodore asked surprised, his hands on his hips. Link shook his head; he didn't have any problems at all.

"Did... did those monsters bother you?" The Kikwi asked, shivering in fright as it remembered what was outside.

"Before the Great Deku Tree died, you wouldn't see things like that around here" Alvin said, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned back against the wall. "We have to stay inside since it's so dangerous but I'm bored to death in here!" His three brothers nodded in agreement.

"At least we have it better than some of the others" Dave pointed out. "They have to live with the animals in their houses to keep them safe."

"Animals?" Link asked, perking up. He remembered asking Impa if it was possible to get some Cuccos and maybe a cow to the village.

"Yeah, one of our own left the village a few years ago." Theodore explained. "He came back once with a little bird he called a Cucco. Once day a few weeks later, these strangers came with more animals, Cuccos, cows and goats. The leader of the group said that our fellow Kokiri asked for the animals to be brought to us"

"Hey mister, have you been travelling around much?" Simon asked. "Have you ever met a boy named Link?"

"Mido, he's sort of our leader, said that the Great Deku Tree withered because Link did something wrong to it" Alvin said.

"Yeah, but Saria defended Link... until she left" Dave pointed out. "Maybe we misunderstood? The fairies also said Link didn't have anything to do with the Great Deku Tree's death."

"And he's the one who got us those animals" Simon added.

"No... I haven't run into any other Kokiris outside the forest" Link finally said, his throat tight. No one recognized him here... he couldn't tell them that he was Link, they would never believe him. They all thought he was a Kokiri, not a Hylain so he shouldn t have never grown up. "So... what happen to this other Kokiri you said left? Saria?"

"Oh, an evil wind is blowing from the Lost Woods" Alvin said. "Saria left, saying 'I have to do something about it!'."

"She meant the Forest Temple" The timid Kikwi said. "It's on the other side of the Lost Woods, in the Sacred Forest Meadow" Link smiled sadly and thanked the four brothers and the Kikwi for their help. Link walked down the familiar dusty path toward his own tree house, slicing the head of an attacking Deku-baba off as it lunged at him, teeth snapping.

"How could so much change Navi?" Link asked softly, stopping at the ladder that lead up to his old home.

"Well... the Great Deku Tree used his powers to keep the forests free from monsters" Navi said as Link climbed the ladder and entered his home. Tears stung Link's eyes as he looked around. Nothing had been disturbed in the last seven years and everything had a coating of dust on it. "When he died... it would have easy for Zelda's forces to invade. They must have invaded the Kikwi's section of the forest for them to be here. I wonder what happen to the Parellas."

"Hopefully, they are safe in their lake" Link said as he sat down on his bed. There was a clucking noise behind him, making Link turned. In the window was a large Cucco, who had its breast thrust out as it looked at him. The bird jumpped down onto the bed, hopping closer to Link then looked at Navi. Link studied the bird in turn, grinning after a moment. "Cluck?"

Cluck, who had grown into a large rooster over the years and had become the lead Cucco of village, gave a soft caw and climbed in his lap. He eyed Navi again, a hungry look in his eyes.

"I think he remembers you" Link said with a laugh as he petted his Cucco.

"Great" Navi muttered as she flew up to keep out of the birds reach.

"Looks like life has been good to you Cluck" Link said as he looked the large rooster over. The Cucco rooster clucked proudly, thrusting his chest out again. Link chuckled, scratching the bird's chest then sighing as he looked around his old home. It was strange to see it, it was seven years but other than all the dust it looked like he never left. "This is so strange Navi"

"I know, and it's terrible what happen to the forest." Navi agreed. "Look, let s just stock up at the store and head out to the temple. We know where it is now" Link sighed again and nodded his head. He gave Cluck one last pat then got up, leaving his little house behind.

"Hey, haven't I seen you somewhere before mister?" Allie, one of the blond Kokiri girls who always like to hang out around the store asked. Her hands were behind her back as she peered up at Link.

"Oohhh, where is Saria?" One of the other girls, Kelly, asked as she stood by the doorway, wringing her hands together. "Do you know Saria, Mister? And where has Mido gone during such an emergency?"

"He said he was going after Saria" Twig, her fairy partner, said.

"I'm sure they are both ok" Link said as he stocked up on a few things then left the store, heading for the entrance to the Lost Woods. Twig and the other two fairies in the store flew up above their parents.

"Was that... Navi?" Twig asked.

* * *

The Lost Woods had changed very little in the last seven years. It was still dark and had that ability to make a person who didn't know where they were going to be all turned around. Link had learned how to navigate the woods when he was little, traveling with Saria whenever she decided to go to her special place. Both the Kokiris who were named Fado liked to come into the woods as well and as soon as Link was old enough to protect himself, Link traveled on his own. (2)

Link had thought with how much the outside world had changed since Zelda had become queen, the Lost Woods would have become more dangerous. The only thing that was different was the Skull Kids, a race of little mischievous wooden people, attacked him now. Nothing dangerous, but using hollow reeds to blow little rocks at him. They stung but they didn't really hurt him. As soon as Link got close to any of them, the Skull Kids would vanish with a high pitch laugh.

"Teh, just when I thought those Skull Kids couldn't get more annoying" Navi said. Link smiled slightly, Navi was usually posed and head strong when given a mission but somehow the child like Skull Kids got under her wings. The Kokiri raised Hylain and his fairy exited one of the many hallow logs in the Lost Woods on the path to the Scared Meadow, only to come to a halt as a familiar hot headed Kokiri jumped out, holding his hand out in front of him.

"Stop!" Mido yelled, looking up at Link. He frowned as he saw the teen in front of him was wearing clothing that looked like it belonged to the Kokiri and jumped to the conclusion that Link was some sort of spy. "What are you? Though you wear Kokiri clothing, you can't fool me!"

"Look, I'm not trying to fool anyone" Link said, resting one hand on his hip, striking Mido as a very familiar pose he had seen a long time ago on another boy he knew. "I'm just going to the Scared Meadow"

"No. I promised Saria I would never let anybody go through here" Mido said, shaking his head. He had pleaded with Saria to return to the village but the green hair girl was determine to go to the temple deep in the forest. She made Mido promise not to let anyone follow her unless they knew her.

"I've been there before, I need to go help Saria" Link said, almost pleading in his voice for Mido to believe him and work with him just this once.

"Prove it! Prove that you know Saria!" Mido demanded. Link frowned for a second, he couldn't tell Mido he was Link, he doubted the Kokiri would believe him and if Mido did, the red head wouldn't let him pass just to spite him. He got an idea and got the Ocarina of Time out, playing the song that Saria taught him. Saria had said only her friends were taught this song. Mido's mouth dropped open. "That melody... Saria plays that song all the time! You... you do know Saria."

Link nodded as he lowered the Ocarina and placed it back in his pouch.

"That song... Saria taught that song only to her friends..." Mido said softly, his arms crossed over his chest as he stared at the ground lost in thought. His head snapped up and he looked at Link again. "Ok, I trust you" He said with a nod, moving out of Link's way. Link smiled slightly and walked past Mido. He stopped short as he heard the Kokiri boy speak again. "When I see you I don't know why but I remember... *him*" Mido said softly. Link closed his eyes for a moment; maybe Mido did know it was him. This was the first time the red head didn't say anything negative to him. Link continued his was to the scared meadow, leaving Mido who just watched him with a thoughtful look on his face.

* * *

Link slowly and carefully entered the Meadow, this place felt a lot different than the Lost Woods did, a lot more dangerous. He could feel the evil wind the Kokiri mentioned and he shivered slightly, the Hylain youth reached up behind him and drew his sword slowly.

"There is something wrong here" Link said as he narrowed his blue eyes, stepping further into the meadow. He heard a rustle of grass behind him, spinning and bringing his shield up in time to block a blow from a moblin's glaive. The monster was very pig like, giving a snorting like roar as it swung its weapon around on him again, Link black flipping out of range. (3)

"What is that?!" Link asked as he dodged another blow, rolling behind the moblin and stabbing the Master Sword into its rump.

"BEEWWWW" The Moblin yelled, dropping its weapon and hopping around holding its rear end.

"It's a Moblin! Kill it before it gets its weapon back!" Navi yelled as Link leapt at the Moblin who snorted in surprise and swung a fist at Link. Link grunted as the first grazed his side, knocking him to the ground and rolling out of the way as the moblin brought its fist down again. The moblin looked around for its weapon and ran over to it once it was spotted.

"Brink?" The Moblin made a questioning noise when it couldn't see Link, looking around confused.

"Hey!" Link leapt and brought the Master Sword down on the Moblin's head, the body bursting into flames as the monster died. Link panted, holding his hand against his bruised side. "Farore that hurt"

"Are you ok Link?" Navi asked worriedly.

"Yeah..." Link said with a grunt of pain that had really hurt.

"Maybe we should stop at the fairy fountain on the way." Navi suggested. "Come on, I can heard sounds up ahead so be quite" she added in a whisper. The blond teen followed the fairy through the mini-maze toward the temple, glancing around the corner only to draw back quickly. A large brown monster with a bull-dog look to its face walked past Link and Navi, making grunting noises as it walked. It rounded the next corner and Link looked at Navi.

"What was that?" He asked softly.

"It was another moblin" Navi explained. Link blinked then looked back the way they just came.

"Wasn't that other thing a moblin? They don't look anything a like" He said.

"Two different branches of the same race." Navi explained, bobbing in the air slightly in a Fairy version of a shrug. "I'm kinda surprise to see both, they don't usually work together. Shh! It's coming back" Link knelt in the tall grass, hiding from view as the bull-dog moblin walked past again. Once it was past him, Link crept up behind the moblin and brought his sword down on its exposed back. The moblin gave a loud grunt of pain, falling forward to its knees where Link was able to cut off its head, the body burning up in a flash of fire.

Link wondered if he was going to keep running into these moblin things as he snuck around another corner, nearly getting impaled on the charging moblin's spear. Link yelped and leapt backwards back around the corner and hid out of site.

"Errr?" The moblin looked around confused, scratching its head, wondering where Link had gone. It looked around again then seemed to shrug, going back to its patrol route. Navi watched, shaking her head then floated back down to Link's hiding spot.

"These things are stupid" She whispered. "I think the first one was smarter than these. I think as long as we're out of site, we'll be ok" Link nodded, peaking around the corner and watched as the moblin looked around before going down another path. Link ran over to the ladder that lead to the top of the maze and climbed it, planning to visit the fairy fountain. "Holy Nayru! Look at the size of that one!" Navi said in alarm. Link looked in the direction that Navi was, gulping as he saw the size of the moblin down the path that lead the temple. It was holding a giant club and looked a lot smarter than the smaller bull-dog looking moblins.

"It is not going to be fun fighting that thing" Link said with a shake of his head and jumped into the fairy fountain. The little pink lighted fairies flew over to Link, one of them quickly healing his wounds making the blond sigh in relief as the ache on his side went away.

"We know your mission hero" one of the fairies said. "If you have something for us to rest in, we can travel with you."

"... I have a couple of bottles" Link said, digging in his bag and taking the three bottles he collected as a kid. The group of healing fairies took a moment to decide who would go with Link and Navi, three of them separated from the group, letting Link place each in a bottle.

"Ok, lets get this over with" Link said as he left the fountain and faced toward the path he needed. "Whoa!" The Hylain teen yelped as the moblin smashed its club on the ground, sending up a cloud of dust as it caused a shockwave, making the blond dive out of the way. The moblin grunted and sit the ground again, another shockwave Link's way. Link dove, weaved and dived his way up the path until he was able to jump past the giant moblin, twisting as he drew his sword and brought it down on the moblin's back.

The moblin yelled loudly in pain but was too big to turn in the narrow path they were on, giving Link the chance to swing and hack away until the Moblin took its last breath and fell over dead. Link placed the Master Sword back into its shaft and went up the stairs that lead to the temple's outer courtyard, hoping that Saria would be sitting in her usual place. Link's shoulders slumped as he saw the tree stump was empty, Saria wasn't there.

"The flow of time is always cruel" Sheik said as he jumped down from a nearby tree. "Its speed seems different for each person but not one can change it"

"Sheik" Link said as he turned to face the other teen.

"Hero" Sheik said, his eyes seeming to playfully smile. "I was starting to think you got lost" Link chuckled softly.

"No, I didn't. I think Saria is the only one who knows the Lost Woods better than I do" Link said, glancing over at the stump again.

"You know, the one thing that doesn't change with time is the memory of younger days" Sheik said softly, laying his hand on Link's shoulder.

"To me, my younger days were only two days ago." Link said just as softly. Sheik squeezed his shoulder gently. "So, this is the temple I have to wake up the sage in?" Link asked, turning to face Sheik.

"Yes, and like promised, I will teach you the Minuet of Forest, it will return you here anytime" Sheik said, taking out a golden harp that he took from the castle seven years ago. Link closed his eyes and listened to Sheik play the tune beautifully, letting the magic behind the music fill him. As the last notes played, Link opened his eyes and grinned at Sheik. "Now you try"

Link brought the Ocarina of Time to his lips and repeated the song. Once Link played the last note, Sheik started to play again and this time the two friends played a duet. If Sheik playing the song by himself filled Link with the magic of the song, it was nothing like the feeling of magic that filled Link now. It was the feeling of the forest, surrounded by trees that had seen countless ages, of the clam green... A feeling of home.

Link gasped softly as he stopped playing, his blue eyes looking into Sheik's amused red ones.

"That... was amazing." He said softly with aww. Sheik chuckled and nodded.

"When I learn the songs, I felt the magic as well, each song feels different for both of us" Sheik explained. "Now you will be able to return to your forest no matter where you are. I'll see you again Hero, I will lead the Kokiri boy out of the forest and back to the safety of your village" Link nodded and watched as Sheik stepped back, taking out a Deku nut. Sheik threw the nut onto the ground, making Link shield his sight from the flash of light while Sheik teleported away.

"Well... let's tackle the Forest Temple" Navi said after a moment. "And awaken the Forest Sage" Link nodded and taking out the hookshot, he aimed it at the tree branch that hung above the top of the broken set of stairs that lead into the temple. The hook shot forward and sunk deep into the wood and anchor itself, the chain retracting and brining Link with it. Link looked up at the temple doorway then bravely made his way inside.

* * *

Author note: I hoped to start the Forest Temple this chapter but it part went longer than I thought it would. I have a unique idea for the temple, or at least I never ran across the idea myself so I hope it s unique.

(1) I couldn t find any of the Kokiri names, if they have any, so I named them after Alvin and the Chipmunks. There are only three brothers in the house but it s rumored that the Kokiri boy in the training ground is the fourth bother, that s why there is four of them. I almost named them at the 3 Stooges.

(2) I ve already established that Fado the Wind Sage from Wind Waker was in this storyline but the little blond Kokiri with the big pig-tails is also rumored to be named Fado. You can find her in the woods when you re an adult and I figured Sage Fado would go to the forest as well.

(3) Think along the lines of the WW Moblins but in TOOT style. In the games the Moblins are either pig faced or bull-dog faced. In Link s Awakening, you see both kinds so I always figured there are two branches of the Moblin race.


	10. The Forest Temple

The Switch of Fate By: USA Tiger

Disclamier: The characters of The Legend of Zelda series belong to Nintendo.

Author note: The chapter has been done for a while but I haven't posted it until now becuase I finally got a beta. But he hasn't gotten back to me yet with the cleaned up version so I decided to post this un-betaed version in the meantime. I also already have the next chapter done as well so this will be a double update today. If and when my beta gets back to me with the cleaned up version, I'll update the chapter on all the sites.

In the meantime I hope you enjoy my attempt of the Forest Temple.

Chapter 10

Link slowly and carefully entered the temple, looking around warily. The temple seemed to be seeped in evil and darkness.

"This doesn't much look like a temple" Link absently remarked as he opened the door.

"I remember the Forest Temple always being here, but I can't remember much about it" Navi said. Link was right, it didn't much remind her of a temple, it was a large stone building, the only thing that reminded her of the forest were the vines and moss that was growing on the walls. A Skulltula dropped down from the ceiling, hissing at Link and Navi. Link hit the giant spider so it would spin around and brought his blade down on its exposed soft underbelly.

"Those are a lot easier than they were before" He said happily, it always took two hits to kill the Skulltula before.

"Well you re bigger and stronger than before" Navi remarked as Link opened the door to a large chamber room. In the middle of the room was a platform surrounded by four torches, each with a different colored flame. "That platform must lead downstairs" Navi said. As Link nodded and stepped closer to the elevator platform, four high pitch laughs echoed in the chamber as four different Poes appeared, each by a torch.

These Poes were different from the poes Link saw in the graveyard, they reminded him of the two poe brothers Flat and Sharp. Each Poe cackled loudly as with a swipe of their torches they each stole a flame from the torches surrounding the elevator platform. As the last flame was stolen, the platform rumbled as it descended until the top was level with the floor, leaving no way for Link and Navi to get to the chamber below.

"Stop them!" Navi yelled as she realized what the Poes had done. Link leapt down and headed for the nearest Poe but they only cackled again as they disappeared in a flash of flames. "We'll have to go after them"

"Right" Link said, figuring that out for himself. He didn't have a clue where the Poes had gone to and selected a random door to enter. The pair found themselves in an inner court yard with a pond and a well nearby. Link hedged around the giant Deku-baba that was clacking its beak and look hungrily at Link. "Wow... this sorta reminds me of the inner court yard at the castle."

"It does a bit" Navi agreed.

* * *

Link had climbed up vine covered walls and explored though hallways and rooms that surrounded the courtyards. The teen now found himself in what looked like a bedroom, a frame of a bed laid in the corner and a half destroyed wardrobe was along another wall. He looked around the room curious, seeing a cloth hanging on one of the walls he walked over and tugged it down.

Navi gasped softly, flying up.

"She looks like one of the Poes!" She said. It was a young Hylain woman sitting primly wearing a purple dress with a matching head piece with large red stones in the front. The woman in the painting hair was a white blond and eyes a dark blue, her hands clasped in her lap as she gave the painter a small smile. At the bottom of the painting was a small metal plaque that had the name 'Meg' written on it.

Under the painting was a desk which Link started to dig through. Inside he found a dairy which he opened to read. Most of the words were fading from the long years since it had been written but Link could still make out some passages.

'Today the manor construction has started. Father keeps going on and on about our soon to be new home. Father has always had a deep interest in the ancient temples of Hyrule but I cannot help but think this idea of his to build the manor over the ruins of the Forest Temple is madness.' A spidery handwriting graced the paper as Link read. 'I've heard stories about the woods that the temple is located; people have been known to become lost and never seen again.'

'Another builder has disappeared with in the forest but Father refuses to believe the stories, calling them nothing but silly superstitions. I am afraid for my sisters and I lives but Father refuses to listen to us. Even Mother is uneasy but like us sh...' The rest of the words were unreadable. Link put the dairy down and looked at Navi.

"Those poor girls" Navi said. "They must had died here and are Poes now" Link placed the dairy back into the desk, knocking some other papers aside.

"Hey look, a key" he said as he dug out the key found.

"Well take it; I'm sure we'll find a door that needs to be unlocked" Navi said, watching as Link tucked it into his pouch then headed for the balcony of the room to leave.

* * *

Link slowly walked through the hallways, he swore he was being watched but for the life of him he couldn't find the source.

"There is something evil here" Navi said softly. He opened one of the many doors in the temple/mansion into a hallway stairwell. "Hey look, it's another painting!" the fairy said as she flew toward a painting on the far wall. This was another young woman wearing a red dress and her reddish blond hair pulled up into a high ponytail. Like with Meg's painting, this one had a name as well - Joelle.

Link turned to the stairwell by the painting, looking up as he heard a laugh.

"There's another one" Navi said surprised at seeing the second painting hanging above the stairs. "It's the same as the other one, I wonder why... Link... I sense something from these paintings" Navi told her partner. Link walked down the rest of the stairs, seeing a door ahead. "Link, it's another one! This one is different!"

Link turned to see what she meant, seeing that this painting was of one of the Poes from before. But before their eyes, a cackling laugh came from the painting and changed to look like the other two. Navi flew back up the stairs, calling back down.

"The Poe sister is haunting the paintings! The one on the wall has changed." Navi quickly came flying back. "We have to find away to get her out of the painting so we can get that flame back." Link ran back up the stairs but as he neared the painting, a laugh came again as it changed from Poe to the young woman. Link turned to look the matching painting above the stairs; it now held the Poe but when teen came near it, it changed again as the laughing Poe sister jumped to another painting.

"It's no use, every time I get close she moves to another painting" Link said as he reached the bottom of the stairs again, looking at the painting on the wall.

"Well... we'll have to look for something that we can use then" Navi said. Link nodded and entered the door that lead out of the room.

The next room was a round chamber with a large pit in the middle of the floor. Along the walls were old tables filled with papers, a couple of cabinets filled with stuff and different items hanging on the wall. Link walked to the middle of the room, looking down into a room he had been in before.

"Look out!" Navi yelled as the same time Link heard a deep evil laugh. He twisted and dodged out of the way in time to avoid a blow from a Stalfos. He had battled two of these skeletal monsters in the room below.

"Hey!" Link drew the Master Sword, paring another blow. He swung at the Stalfos's middle but was blocked by the monsters own shield. Link and the Stalfos traded blow after blow, the teen now have a few shallow cuts on his arms and at least one of his face from a glancing blow. But Link got his hits in as well and with another yell, Link drove the sword that was evil's bane through the middle of the Stalfos which collapsed to the ground in a pile of bones only to burn to ash in a flash of fire.

Link panted softly, reaching up to wipe the sweat and blood off his face. He heard a noise behind him, turning around in time to watch a platform lower from the ceiling and cover the pit in the middle of the floor. On top of the platform was two more Stalfoses. The two skeletal creatures jumped at Link who brought up his shield to block the blows. He grunted and buckled slightly under the weight from the double attack. The blond reached into his pouch to grab a Deku nut and threw it to the floor. The two Stalfoses were stunned long enough for Link to roll away.

Link traded blow after blow with both Stalfoses, dodging a swipe of one sword only to get hit by the other one. He finally knocked one Stalfos down only to be hit from behind, thrown into a display cabinet.

"Ahugg" Link groaned as he sat up. He had pieces of glass sticking out of his arm and he hissed as he pulled a large shard out.

"Look out!" Navi yelled in alarm, making Link look up then roll out of the way, a wickedly curved blade landing where he had been lying.

"Damn" Link hissed under his breath, he was in pain from the glass shard in his arm, the cuts littering his skin and his whole body bruised. "I need to end this quick" The Stalfos laughed evilly again and swung its sword, catching the Master Sword and knocking it from Link's pain weakened grip. Link cursed and looked around. On the wall was a bow, he ran toward it, taking it down and grabbing an arrow from the quiver hanging underneath where the bow had been. Link notched the arrow and drew the string back, pointing it at the Stalfos's head. The arrow flew true and landed deep in the monster's eye, knocking it's skull clean from its neck. The rest of the Stalfos collapsed to the ground.

Link grabbed the Master Sword from where it had been landed when knocked from his hands and walked toward the skull that was still hopping around with the arrow sticking out of its eye socket. With a loud yell, Link brought his blade down on the skull, cleaving it in two. The skull and the rest of the body burned in yet another flash of fire as did the other Stalfos body.

"Damn... that hurt" Link said as he sat down against the wall, pulling out the shards of glass from his arm.

"Maybe you should have one of the healing fairies help you" Navi suggested a Link pulled shard after shard out of his arm.

Link sighed and nodded, he didn't want to waste the fairies but he had nothing to wrap his bloody arm up in, not to mention he hurt all over. The healing fairy was released from one of the bottles, the small pink fairy flying around Link as it healed his wounds before fading away once its magic was used up. Now healed, Link stood and placed the Master Sword and his shield on his back then picked up the bow he used. Navi gasped and flew closer to look at the bow.

"Link... that's the Fairy Bow!" She said, bobbing excitedly. "That bow was created by the Fairy Queen Venus, it's been missing for years" (1)

"Really?" Link asked as he held up the bow in front of him.

"We should take it with us" Navi said. "It will be useful" Link nodded, placing the bow in his magic pooch then taking the quiver off the wall, placing it so it was laying across the small of his back so he could draw an arrow in a hurry. "Hey... maybe we can use the arrows to hit those paintings from a far, force Joelle out of her paintings!"

As Link exited the chamber into the stairwell hallway that Joelle haunted, the blond noticed that the painting across from the door contained the Poe Joelle. He whipped out the Fairy Bow and shot an arrow into the painting. The Poe laughed as the painting disappeared in a flash of flames.

"Alright, it worked!" Navi said excitedly. "Now let s go get the other two" Link walked up the stairs slowly, another arrow notched in the bow. When he reached half way up the stairs, he sat Joelle was haunting the painting at the top. The arrow flew true and destroyed the painting, with nowhere else to hide another arrow flew into the third and last painting. Joelle quickly flew to the bottom of the stairs where Link followed her.

"You're not going to get me that easily!" Joelle yelled, her voice high pitched and raspy. She came flying at Link, trying to hit the Hylain teen with the torch she held. The attack was blocked and Link swung the Master Sword around, cutting the Poe in half. Joelle made a death scream before flashing out of sight for good, her torch falling to the ground. The torch busted up when it hit the stone floor, the red flame escaping and floating over to a tall golden torch in the room. Also, a piece of paper floated through the air where Joelle had been. Link leaned over and picked it up, it was another diary page, this time written in a childish handwriting. And like Meg's dairy pages, part of the words were faded and unreadable.

'..day we moved into the big house that Daddy built in the woods. It's very pretty but at the same time I can't help but feel like we shouldn't be he... Daddy is very excited that he can start studying the legends around the old temple that use to be here. He wants to find and study the Kokiri, Kikwis and Deku tribes. Keeps going on and on about how one of them could be the `Forest sage`. My sis...ving here, Meg thinks we should return to Hyrule Castle Town. Mom agrees with her but Daddy keeps saying that we'll be fine' Link read, he wondered how long this manor house had been here, he never remembered anybody coming into the forest to 'study' any of the forest races nor had he heard anything like it from anyone.

"hmm... I vaguely remember that, but it was a long, long time ago" Navi said when asked. "There was a rumor going around that someone was wondering the woods looking for the Kokiri Forest but the Great Deku Tree kept it hidden. After awhile, I stop hearing about it" Link looked down at the page again then put it in his pouch.

* * *

Link had taken his new bow and used it to set off traps and eye targets he couldn't reach before, wondering why a manor house needing all these things. Soon, he made his way back down the hallway Joelle had haunted and entered the chamber where he found the bow.

"Do you think any of these have anything these Poe sisters father was working on?" Link asked as he picked up some of the scattered pages off the floor. A lot of them were water damaged and the few he could read, the writings made no sense.

"I don't know, but those don't look like they were written by a sane man" Navi pointed out as she read the papers over Link's shoulder. "I wonder about what happen to the family here, and why those girls are Poes. It must have been something terrible" Link put the paper back down on a table and left the chamber by the other door in the room. Across the room was yet another painting, this time a young woman wearing a blue dress and a blue hat on top of her head. At the bottom of the painting was the name 'Beth'.

"I bet it's just like before, let s see if the other two paintings have a Poe instead of a girl" Navi said. Link walked up the stairs slowly and sure enough the painting at the top level contained the Poe. An arrow took out that painting and after moving to the top of the stairs, a second arrow took care of the next painting. Link ran back down the steps to the last painting which contained the Poe. A third arrow forced the Poe Sister Beth into the open.

"You! You killed my sister!" Beth rasped angrily. "I will kill you for this mortal!"

Like Joelle, Beth started to spin rapidly toward Link meaning to hit him with the torch she carried. Link dodged out of the way and waited for Beth to stop. Once she did, her back was to Link who jumped up and brought his blade down on her back. Beth's rage made her a little stronger than her sister and was able to just barely survive the attack. She spun around and started swinging her torch at Link who blocked each his with his shield.

"Die!" Beth yelled as she came in for one last hit. Link took the opening she gave him and slashed upward, ending Beth's undead life once and for all. The Poe disappeared in a flash, the torch falling to the ground and breaking into pieces. The blue fire that had been captured by Beth floated over to the tall torch by the door while another dairy page floated to the floor. Beth's handwriting has been a flowing, loopy cursive when she was alive.

'Father had been acting strange lately, every day he goes out into the woods claiming that he is searching for a fairy child or something of the like. Yesterday, he came home with a strange bow, he insists that a fairy queen gave it to him. Mother has been becoming paler as well, I think something does not agree with her in the forest but Father refuses to let Mother leave to see a healer. I am worried... what is happening to our father and what will become of mother if she does not seek help?'

"I wonder just how their Father managed to get the Fairy Bow from Queen Venus" Navi wondered as Link stored away the page with the first. "I can't imagine her just giving it to any moral human."

"Maybe she thought it could save his life" Link suggested as they made their way up the stairs to leave the hallway.

"Maybe..." Navi agreed softly, but she wondered if the Queen knew that one day the bow would be needed by a hero.

* * *

Link looked around as he opened the door, he had come across what looked like an old dining room. There was a long, dusty table in the middle of the room surrounded by chairs that were either broken or overturned. On the table were several plates and goblets, some were broken and a few others had bits of old bones lying on top of them. Any other food that was on the plates was long gone.

On the wall on the other side of the table was a large curtain that was closed. Link looked at it with curiosity.

"What do you think is behind that curtain?" He asked. Navi floated closer to the curtain, using to magic to feel it out.

"I don't know but I sense the same type of evil presence that I felt from Joelle and Beth" She said after a minute.

"So the next poe sister should be here then" Link guessed as he walked around the table to the curtain. He grasped the rope hanging to the side and tugged it, drawing the curtain open. Link stepped back to look at the painting, this was much bigger than all the others. And unlike the others, it wasn't just a painting of a young Hylain woman.

It was a landscape of a forest area, trees and bushes surrounding a young woman sitting on a tree stump. The girl in the painting was wearing a flowing green dress with a hood that was drawn up over her head. At the top of the hood, flowing locks of blond hair was pulled through a hole and she held a delicate looking flower between long fingers, appearing to take in the flower's scent with a mischievous smile. At the bottom of the painting was the name 'Amy'.

"How do we get the poe to come out?" Link asked.

"I guess try shooting the painting with an arrow, it worked with the other paintings" Navi suggested. Link shrugged, he didn't have any other better ideas, and withdrew an arrow from the quiver on his back. He drew back the string on his bow aiming for the painting version of Amy. The arrow landed with a *thunk*, the end swaying side to side. The Amy in the painting smile twisted into a sneer and Link turned as something landed on the table with a loud thumping noise, several of the old plates and goblets knocked over.

"You have a minute to solve my puzzle mortal, or you life is forfeit" A high pitch voice echoed throughout the room, ending with a loud pitch laugh. Link walked over to the table, on top of it was peices of a puzzle much like the ones he use to play with back in the Kokiri village. He needed to put the peices together to create a shape and he only had a moment to do so.

"Hurry up Link" Navi hissed while Link looked over the pieces to see what fitted where.

"Ah ha!" Link said, he was always good at puzzles and he quickly fitting all the pieces together. When he was done, the pieces made the image of the Poe sister Amy. Link spun around as the laugh from before rung out in the room, the painting fading away and leaving Amy in its place.

"Very good mortal, you manage to solve the puzzle" Amy said, floating toward Link. "But your life is still mine!" She lunged at Link who dodged out of the way. This Poe acted smarter than her two previous sisters, she kept the table between her and Link the whole time so he could not hit her with the Master Sword. Link drew the Fairy Bow and show an arrow at Amy which she deflected with the torch she held.

"Try again Link!" Navi said. Another arrow was drawn from the quiver and shot at Amy who once again knocked the arrow away but missed the arrow that followed it. The Poe gave a cackling laugh as she faded from few, the torch the stolen green flame the only thing visible.

"You can't hit what you can't see" Amy taunted. Link cursed softly, Poes were invincible once it was invisible, and he couldn't hurt Amy until she showed herself again. The torch started to spin in the air toward Link as the green Poe sister started her attack. Link jumped out of the way and landing on top of the table in the process, knocking goblets and plates off the surface. The blond notched another arrow into his bow, aiming at the floating torch. Soon the air around the torch shimmered as Amy faded back into view, as soon as she was visible again Link shot the air into the Poe. A second then third arrow followed, Link did not want to give Amy the chance to turn invisible again.

Finally, a fourth arrow hit Amy who gave her final death scream as she flashed away, torch falling and breaking like the others. The green flame returned to the torch by the second door in the room while yet another diary page float down to the floor. Link picked it up to look at it, Amy's handwriting was a bit like Cucco scratch but he could still make out some of the words.

'Dear diary today was Mother's funeral. It was only me and my sisters there, our father didn't even attend. Maybe he is ashamed, it's his fault Mother was never able to leave this cursed home of ours to see a healer. Whatever it was that killed Mother, I'm afraid it is starting to affect the rest of us as well' Amy had written '... Beth is looking really pale today while Joelle is bed ridden. Even I am started to feel unwell, I can't even muster up the energy to play with my puzzles. Meg is trying to take care of all of us like Mother did, the few servants we had have either run away or the forest has taken them. ... We haven t seen Father in two days now, has the forest finally taken his life as well?'

"oh those poor girls" Navi said as she read over Link's shoulder.

"What was killing them?" Link asked as he tucked the page away.

"Something in the forest I guess" Navi said. "There are a lot of dangerous things in the Lost Woods and there has always been stories of outsiders not under the protection of the Great Deku Tree or the Light Spirit Faron who turned into monsters."

"hmm" Link heard those stories as well, Saria use to tell them to him.

"Let s go find that last Poe" Navi said, flying toward the door with Link following her.

* * *

"I don't get it, where is she?" Link asked, he and Navi had explored every room looking for the Poe Sister Meg. They even went back to her bedroom where her painting had been, thinking that it might be the same as the others. But Navi hadn't sense anything from the painting and even an arrow shot into the canvas had done nothing.

"She has to be somewhere" Navi said as they reentered the large chamber that contained the elevator platform. Link looked over at the area, three of the four torches were relit, and they just needed the purple flame to be able to continue. "Do you hear that?" Navi whispered. Link stopped and listened, he could ear crying. Stepping around so he could see, he and Navi found Meg 'sitting' in the middle of the floor, her hands over her eyes as she cried in grief. Link drew his sword as he came closer, one good swing should take care of the poe.

"You killed them" Meg said between her sobbing. "Joelle... Beth... Amy... my sisters... You killed them you heartless bastard!" The poe shot up into the air in front of Link. "I will kill you for this!" Right before him, Meg split herself into four copies.

"Link, I can't tell which one is the real Meg!" Navi said. Link watched the Poes as they circled around him. He couldn't get close enough to hit any of them with his sword. Instead he withdrew the Fairy Bow and took aim. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of the Megs act differently from the other three and turned, shooting the arrow into her. Meg yelped in pain and disappeared, only to reappear as four copies again. All four Megs swung their torches at Link, who dodged as best he could but still was hit by at least once torch. He watched, waiting for one of the Megs to act different and when she did, another arrow hit the real Meg.

This went on a few more times, Link gaining bruises and burns from the Meg copies and their torches but at last, the last arrow went flying into Meg who screamed as she was gone in a flash. The last flame floated to the last torch, the elevator platform rising with a loud rumble. And floating down was one last dairy page, written in Meg's spidery handwriting from the original book.

'My last sister was buried in the crypt today. I fear I will join them soon though who will bury me?' Meg had written. '...Father returned yesterday, his eyes had this crazed look in them. He had a large locking chain placed on the door to Mother's resting place, muttering things under his breath. Things that I cannot understand, I believe his time alone in the woods has driven him mad.'

'I am alone...' this was the last thing Meg ever written, no more words on sheet of paper.

* * *

Link looked around as the platform descended into the chamber below; it was roundish with 4 doorways branching off and a hallway on one end. The floor was made of marble and was alternation white, blue and red. Above each doorway were the names of the Poe sisters carved in stone: Joelle, Beth, Amy, and Meg.

"We're in the crypt" Navi said, flying around slowly. She hovered by the door with Meg's name, looking at the stone coffin. "I guess her father buried her after she died." Link looked at each name, touching his pouch on his side briefly then started taking out the four dairy pages.

"What are you doing?" Navi asked as Link passed her to enter the small room where Meg's body had been put to rest.

"I don't feel right keeping these pages" Link said, placing a page on top of the coffin gently. Navi stayed quiet and watched as Link walked to each coffin and placed a page on top of it. When he was done, the blond stood in the middle of the chamber and gave a short pray to Farore, his hands clasped in front of him.

"Alright, let s see about awaking the sage" Link said once he was done, heading for the hallway that had the symbol he saw outside the temple above it. At the end of the hall was a large door covered in chains and a large golden lock.

"What could possibility need a lock like this?" Link asked, touching the lock.

"The father put this lock on here remember? Meg wrote about it in her dairy" Navi said. "I... sense something behind this door..."

"Guess the only way to find out is to unlock it" Link look a large golden key with a ruby in the handel out of his pouch, it matched the design on the lock. The key was inserted and turned, making the chains clank and clang as the lock came off causing the chains to slacken. Link pushed on the door and entered the next room slowly.

* * *

Link walked up the raised platform that was surrounded by a gated looking wall. Along the walls stood many different paintings, at least four of them of the past human forms of the Poe sisters. Others were land scrapes and one was of a Hylain couple, a stern looking man wearing glasses and pressed shirt and jacket. In front of him was a blond woman wearing a white dress, the man's hand was resting on her shoulder and her hand was resting on top of his.

In the middle of the platform was a large stone coffin, Link walked around it but saw nothing of interest.

"There is nothing here" Navi said with a frown. "But I feel an air of evil here..."

"Maybe there is something under the platform" Link suggested, heading for the gap in the wall by the stairs that lead up the platform. As the blond neared the gap, a spiked gate popped up blocking his way. The teen spun around as something started to bang behind him, the lid of the coffin rattling violently. Finally, with unearthly scream, the whole stone coffin burst apart, Link blocking most of the flying pieces with his shield. As he peeked over the top of his shield, he gasped; floating in the air was a ghostly looking woman.

It was the woman from the painting, the mother of the poe sisters. She was pale and hauntingly beautiful, her white dress and her hair floating around her as if caught in a wind. She stared down at Link before her face morphed into a gaunt monsterly form as she opened her fang filled mouth and gave an unearthly scream.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Link grunted and cringed, the scream was like the ones that the ReDead made and froze him to the core.

"LINK!" Navi yelled over the screaming. "SHE'S A BANSHEE! YOU HAVE TO STOP HER SCREAMING!"

Link grunt softly as he reached into his pouch to grab the fairy bow and notch an arrow in it. He aimed at the Banshee and shot the arrow into her, cutting off her screams. Link's ears were still ringing as the sounds stopped, the Banshee's face twisted into an ugly sneer as she floated around the platform, Link turning to keep her in his sight at all time. The Banshee reared back her hand, a ball of energy gathering in her palm until it formed a glowing ball. With a scream she lobed it at Link who put the bow over his shoulders and whipped out the Master Sword in time to hit the ball of energy. To Link's surprise the ball of energy was knocked back at the Banshee who looked just as surprised as Link before it hit her.

Link ran at the stunned Banshee, jumping at her with a yell as he brought the Master Sword down on her, creating cuts in her skin. With a yell the Banshee seemed to regain herself as with a burst of power she knocked Link back and returned to the air. She opened her mouth to scream again, Link cutting her off with another arrow before she could utter a sound. Once again she gathered another ball of energy and threw it at the elven hero and when Link hit it back at her, she was ready this time and smacked the energy ball back at Link.

The energy ball traveled back and forth between the Banshee and Link, the ball traveling faster and faster as it was smacked until with a yell Link hit it a final time, sending it back at the Banshee. The Banshee was too slow and the ball slammed into her, sending the ghostly woman crashing to the ground with a scream. Link ran up to the Banshee, hacking and slashing at her form until with a final scream she started to dissolve and break apart.

"Well, well. You did quite well" A woman's voice said out of nowhere, Link looking around for the source. The voice sounded familiar and after a few seconds Link realized it was Zelda. "It looks like you might be gaining some slight skill. But do not think it will always be this easy."

The Banshee's body started to float up into the air as a portal appeared in the ceiling. As the Banshee neared it, she started to scream loudly and struggle as it drew her in.

"What a worthless creation that ghost was! I shall banish it to the gap between dimensions!" Zelda's voice declared loudly as the Banshee was drawn full into the portal, the portal and the ghost disappearing in a flash of light.

"Zelda created that thing?" Link asked softly, his voice echoing within the chamber.

"It makes sense" Navi said. "She's the one who filled the temples with evil, the monster is the center source of the evil. The temple feels clean now, the Sage will be able to awaken. Still I'm confused a bit, Meg's dairy page said her father was the one who placed the lock on the door, I wonder why?"

"Who knows, by that time he was crazy right?" Link said, placing his sword back into his shelf as a glowing blue portal appeared on the floor.

"I guess." Navi said as she followed her charge over to the portal. "We'll never really know" As Link stepped into the portal with Navi hovering over his shoulder; he was surrounded by a blue crystal and teleported out of the room. As he disappeared, a faint outline of a woman floated out of the painting of the Poe sister's parents. A soft smile graced her face and she held out her hand. One by one Meg, Joelle, Beth and Amy joined their mother, no longer Poes but ghostly images of their forms from when they were alive. Their mother looked over where Link had been, her eyes twinkling.

"Thanks you Hero" A faint voice said as all five faded away, passing on to the next plain of life.

* * *

Link and Navi reappeared in the Chamber of the Sages. The blond looked around, the Light Sage Rauru didn't seem to be there nor did anyone else. As he turned toward the area that contained the symbol of the Forest Sage, it started to glow with a green light as a familiar child like figure rose up.

"Saria..." Link said softly.

"Link, thank you" Saria said in her sweet voice. "Because of you, I could awaken as a Sage. I am Saria, the Sage of the Forest Temple"

"Oh Saira... somehow I knew you would be the sage" Link said softly, kneeling down so he was eye level with his oldest and best friend.

"I always believed you would come, because I know you" Saria said with a sad smile. Link opened his mouth to explain, Saria holding up her hand to stop him. "No, you don't have to explain it to me, because it is destiny that you and I can't live in the same world."

"What do you mean?" Link asked with a frown.

"I will stay here as the Forest Sage and help you" Saria explained. "As an awakened Sage, I am needed here now. Now please... take this Medallion" she held out her hands which glowed and a small green medallion with the forest sage symbol on one side and the Triforce on the other appeared. She pressed it into Link's hands then threw her arms around him. "I will always be your friend" Saria whispered in his ear then stepped back. Link had a few tears in his eyes as he stood back up, clutching the medallion close to his chest. Saria gave him one last smile as he was teleported away from the chamber.

"Goodbye Link" Saria said as he disappeared.

"You two will always be connected Saria" Fado said as he appeared in a flash of light green light. "And perhaps when there is peace in Hyrule again, we will be able to return to our beloved forest"

"I know" Saria said as she turned to her fellow Kokiri sage. "It's hard leaving everyone behind. I even had to leave behind Dits and I helped raised Link since his mother brought him into the forest."

"It's hard" Fado agreed. "I have to leave Oak behind as well every time I leave for my temple. But Link has the spirit of the Hero, he will defeat Zelda and bring piece to Hyrule. Already our forest is returning to normal Saria, thanks your magic as a sage. A new Deku Tree can grow now"

"Thanks to Link as well" Saria said with a smile. "And thank you Fado, I guess I needed that pep-talk. I wonder if I can restore the Forest Temple back to what it once was."

"You never know" Fado said with a chuckle. Saria smiled again and with a flash of green and light green both Kokiris disappeared back to the Forest and Wind Temples.

* * *

While Link was in the Forest Temple, Sheik hopped from tree limb to limb as he looked for the Kokiri boy. A flash of red out of the corner of his eye caught his attention; Mido was slowly walking back in the direction of the Kokiri Forest. The Kokiri's arms were crossed over his chest and he was looking down at his feet as he walked, deep in thought. Sheik started to follow him, wanting to make sure the eternal child made it back to his village safely.

"Grunt... Oink..." Sheik looked around, he was sure he just heard something... "Bwwweee!" A large piggish Moblin leapt out of a bush, glaive banished high above his head ready strike. Mido who had not been paying attention to his surroundings gave a loud frightened yell as he stumbled back in surprise. The red headed Kokiri boy tripped over a tree root, crashing to the ground. The Moblin roared as he swung his weapon down toward Mido, Sheik having to act fast as he jumped to the ground in front of Mido and throwing a group of throwing needles into the Moblin's face.

The Moblin gave a pained cry, holding his hands over his face where the needles were sticking out. Sheik quickly got his whip out from the holder on the small of his back and cracked it at the monster, the end wrapping around the shaft of its weapon and with a yank it flew out of the Moblin's grip into Sheik's. The shadow elf was a bit unfamiliar with this type of weapon but he was still able to bring it around and thrust it into the Moblin's neck. Mido watched with wide eyes as Sheik dispatched the Moblin and it disappeared in a flash of fire.

"What... who..." Mido asked, still freaked out a bit by his near death experience. Sheik tossed away the ex-Moblin's weapon away and re-coiled his whip as he turned to the Kokiri behind him.

"You need to pay attention, traveling in these woods is dangerous" Sheik said as he placed his whip back into its holder and reached down to help Mido up. "You need to return to your village, you will be safer there"

"That's where I'm trying to go" Mido said as he brushed dirt and grass off of his backside. Sheik reached down and grabbed Mido who yelled as he leapt up into the tress to head for the Kokiri village. "Hey! Put me down! I can walk!"

Sheik smirked behind his face mask, he remembered the stories that Link told him when they were kids and how this red headed boy was bully to him. So it felt good to get back at the boy for his friend while also keeping the Kokiri safe. Soon Sheik and Mido were back at the village, Sheik using his whip and needles to kill off Deku-babas as he landed before finally letting the complaining Mido down.

"I could have made it back myself" Mido said with a huff.

"Maybe, but Moblins like to travel in packs. It was safer just to bring you back here myself" Sheik said. Mido looked up at Sheik for a moment before nodding and quickly heading for his home. Sheik watched him then jumped back into the trees to wait for Link to return. He was joined by Kain and a couple of other young Sheikah trainees a few hours later, the younger shadow elves there to clean out the village of monsters. As the four Sheikah talked softly and kept watch over the Kokiri Village, they all felt and saw a wave of green energy as it spread out over the village, coming from direction of the temple.

"What was that?!" Kain asked. Sheik smiled, turning to his brother.

"Don't you feel it, little brother?" He said. "Link did it, he reawakened the Forest Sage, and the temple is clean now" Kain and the other two Sheikah youths whispered excitedly, already there was a blow against the evil dark queen Zelda.

* * *

Link and Navi were teleported to the Great Deku Tree Grove. Link felt his chest tighten as he looked up at husk of the only father figure he and Kokiri had ever known. Brown leaves were still falling from the crown of the top of the tree, Link could see 'bald' spots where all of the leaves had fallen off, and the trunk of the Deku Tree was a gray color. Somehow the 'mouth' of the Deku Tree had closed, Link remembered that it had been open when he left the tree seven years ago.

"What's that?" Navi asked as she noticed something odd at the base of the Great Deku Tree in a patch of sunlight. Link noticed as well, walking over and kneeling in front of the spot. It was a little tree sap, its tiny green leaves twitching every now and then. Curious, Link reached out to touch the tiny sapping.

As his fingers brushed one of the leaves, the sapping shook for second before a whole little tree popped out of the ground, sending dirt, grass and Link flying.

"AHH!" Link yelled as he knocked back, quickly sitting up to look at the tree sprout with surprise.

"Howdy! I'm the Deku Tree Sprout!" The tiny Deku Tree said with a slight country accent. (2)

"Deku Tree Sprout?" Link repeated as he stood and walked back over to the tree.

"Yep, because you and Saria broke the curse on the Forest Temple, I can finally grow and flourish! Thanks a lot!" The Deku sprout said happily.

"Oh... um... you're welcome" Link said while Navi bounced in the air excitedly. A new Deku Tree! The forest was finally healing!

"Hey, have you see your old friends?" The Deku tree asked. Link nodded his head, he had visited a few of the Kokiri before heading for the temple. "None of them recognized you with your grown-up body, did they?"

"No" Link said with a sigh and a sad shake of his head.

"That's because the Kokiri never grow up! Even after seven years, they're still kids!" The Deku tree explained. "You must be wondering why only you have grown up!"

"Part of me does, but I think I know the answer. I pieced it together since I left the forest 7 years ago." Link said. "I'm not a Kokiri."

"That's correct, you are actually a Hylain!" The tree agreed.

"... How did I come to live with the Kokiri if I'm a Hylain?" Link asked softly. "I know outsiders don't usually find this forest."

"Well, let me explain" The Deku sprout said. "Some time ago, before the King of Hyrule unified this country, there was a fierce was in our world. All of the outsider s fought in this war while us forest dwellers and the Minish stayed out of it. One day, to escape the fires of the war, a young Hylain mother and her baby boy entered this forbidden forest. My predecessor allowed the mother and her child into the forest."

"Why?" Link asked curious.

"The mother was gravely injured." The Deku tree admitted. "She was dying. Her only choice was to entrust the child to the pervious Deku Tree, one of the guardians of the forest. He could sense that this was a child of destiny, whose fate would affect the entire world. So he took the child, you Link, into the forest. Not long after, your mother passed away from her wounds and you were raised as a Kokiri. And now, finally, the day of destiny has come! You are a Hylain and were always bound to leave this forest."

"What happens after I free all of the temples?" Link asked. "And Zelda is defeated."

"You are always welcome into the forest Link, though you are a Hylain, you are still a child of the forest" The Deku Tree sprout assured the teen. "You're a little big to live with the Kokiris but you can still make your home within all parts of Faron's woods. Now, go break the curses on all the temples!"

Link nodded and turned to leave the grove. The tiny Deku tree watched him and Navi as they left, the boy had grown into a fine young man.

* * *

Mido was leaning up against the wall outside of the pathway that lead to the Deku Tree Grove. He was watching his fellow villagers who were all extremely happy to finally be able to go outside safely. All of the monsters in their home were gone. Even all of the animals in the village were out, enjoying their time in the sun. The couple of cows and the goat were currently munching on the tall grasses that had grown outside of the tree houses the Kokiri lived in. The timid Kikwis who had come to hide in the village were walking around as well, their bulbs on their backs slightly open to soak in the rays of the sun.

Everyone in the village had felt the wave from the temple in the forest and when they looked outside, saw that they were safe. All the Kokiri had felt not too long ago their connection with the Deku Tree renewed, everyone's spirits were up... except for Mido's... He was happy that the forest was safe again and that they had a new Deku Tree... but he missed Saria... and the man from the forest who had known Saria's special song... he was that was Link.

Mido turned as he heard footsteps behind him; it was the man he thought was Link. The red headed Kokiri moved so he was blocking Link's path.

"Where is Saria?" He asked.

"She's in the temple as its sage" Link said. Mido closed his eyes and nodded his head after a second.

"Oh... I see... Saria won't ever come back." Mido said as his green eyes reopened and look up at Link. He was sure this was the fairy-less boy he bullied long ago, he even had the same blue fairy with him. "But, I made a promise to Saria... if Link came back, I would be sure to tell him that she had been waiting for him, because Saria really liked..." Mido could not bring himself to say it, nor could be bring himself to tell the larger boy that he *knew* who Link was. "Hey... if you see him somewhere, please let him know." Mido turned and started to walk away. He stopped and turned his head slightly to speak over his shoulder. "And also... I'm sorry for being mean to him... tell him that, too" Mido offered as an apology before heading to his home.

A group of Kokiri girls that were nearby heard Mido.

"Link... I wonder if he will come back" One girl said, everyone in the village barring Saria, Mido and Fado still thought Link was a Kokiri. The girls noticed Link as he walked pass, moving to surround him.

"You're such a big strong guy!" Another girl said. "I really want to be like you someday; even through I'll always be small"

"I still think you really look like somebody I've seen before, mister" The third girl said.

"I just have that face" Link said with a sad smile. The girls giggled then ran off to gossip some more.

Link listened to the Kokiri and Kikwis talk happily as he passed them. Some spoke about the temple and the new Deku tree and some spoke about him. A sad pained look crossed his face as he heard one said that he was sure Link would return to the forest someday not know Link was there with them now.

Link left the main entrance to the village, now that the mission to awake Saria as the sage was over, he was tried and could feel every ache, burn and cut he got from the monsters in the temple.

"You did a good job Hero" Sheik said from behind Link. The green clad youth turned toward the other teen, a weary smile on his face. "You destroyed the wicked creatures that haunted the temple and awakened the sage."

"Yeah... it was Saria..." Link said softly. "She always felt a connection to that place when we were younger."

"As a Sage, she would" Sheik agreed. Link stumbled slightly as he took another step toward the exit, Sheik rushing over to wrap his arms around the other blond. "Whoa there Hero... I think you've had enough for today. I think you need your wounds tended to and some sleep" The shadow elf tossed a Deku nut, teleporting himself, Link and Navi to the hidden Sheikah village deep in the forest.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the highest room of the dark tower that loomed over the remains of Hyrule Castle Town, Zelda sat on a throne. She wore a blood red dress that had the Tri-force symbol on the front in black instead of gold. A gothic circlet cross sat on top of her head and delicate jewelry decorated her neck and arms.

Zelda was pondering what to do about the thorn in her side, the forest boy Link.

'I should have killed him when I had the chance' She thought, tapping the fingers of one hand on the arm of the throne. Instead though, she had let the blond boy live after he opened the door to the Scared Realm. He had already awakened one of the Sages, her control for the forest was gone. When she was a child, after she took over Hyrule, she and the witch sisters Kotake and Koume killed for spirit forms of the pervious Sages. The Light Sage was the only one who escaped, hiding away in the Sage's chamber where she could not reach him at this time.

"Where would the boy go next?" Zelda asked herself softly as she stood and walked over to a high window that looked out over *her* country. In the distance she could see Death Mountain surrounded by a fiery looking cloud and Zora's domain. She had already punished the Zora for standing up against her, freezing them in their homes. The cold blond woman turned her attention back to the violent volcano, a smirk crossing her ruby red lips. Likely the so called 'hero' would head there next, she had to make sure he knew that was foolish to cross her.

"Go to Death Mountain and gather the Goron. Place them in cages within the Fire Temple, Mogmas as well if you come across them" Zelda commanded two of the armored soldiers standing at attention by the doorway. Unlike how her 'father' had them dressed, the processed guards know were covered in strong protective armor. (3) "They shall be made examples of"

The soldiers saluted then left the room to do her bidding. Once they were gone, Zelda used her magic to teleport herself into the heart of the fire temple. There, half buried in the ground, where the skeletal remains of a dragon that once lived on the volcano a long time ago. The dark queen began to use her magic, pouring it into the dragon remains. The bones started to glow brightly with a white lightly as they started to float in the air. Flesh and blood started to form around the bones and with a flash, the revived dragon roared loudly.

"Volvagia!" Zelda called loudly. "I have given you life once again! You are mind to command" Volvagia roared again, coming to land in front of Zelda. The dragon nuzzled Zelda's hand as she laid it on the dragon's snout. The queen of evil teleported them to the center of the volcano where the her soldiers were marching a group of Gorons toward the entrance of the temple. Some of the soldiers were holding a couple of struggling Mogmas who were fighting to get free. "Here me Gorons and Mogmas of Death Mountain! You're deaths shall be a warning to all that oppose me! You shall become dinner for the dragon Volvagia!"

Volvagia roared loudly in response, making the Goron's quake in fear as a long dead myth came to life. Stories passed down from father to son told about Volvagia who use to eat Gorons before a hero of the Gorons killed it. In the passageway to the Gorgon city, a young Goron boy shook in fear as his people was taken.

* * *

Author note: Ok so to explain, I always wondered about the back story of the Forest Temple. To me, the Forest Temple in the Ocarina of Time does not look like it's a temple for the forest. The forest temple in Twilight Princess is closer to what I think a forest temple should look like. Instead I think the TOOT temple looks like a manor or fortress. We're also are never given a back story for the Poe sisters so the idea is that a researcher found the remains of the original forest temple and build his home on top of it. Then he moved his family into the new temple who died one by one while he went insane.

I also gave a more realistic version on how Link got the Fairy Bow. And lastly I changed the boss of the temple, didn't want Zelda to just copy Ganon's phantom into some 'Zelda phantom' so I turned it into a Banshee that use to be the Poe sister's mother when they were alive.

(1) Venus was the name of the fairy queen in A Link to the Past.

(2) When I look at the Deku Tree Sprout, I always imagine him speaking with a thick contry accent.

(3) think the soldiers in ALTP


	11. The Temple of Hyila and The Fire Temple

The Switch of Fate By: USA Tiger

Disclamier: The characters of The Legend of Zelda series belong to Nintendo.

Chapter 11

Link's eyes fluttered open the next morning, after a Sheikah healer bandaged his wounds and forced a healing potion down his throat Link had fallen asleep on the spare bed in Sheik's home.

"Link! You're awake!" Navi said as she popped into Link's view, making him groan and hold up a hand to block the light that the fairy emitted. She quickly landed on his chest, the light going out to show her from. "Sorry. I was a bit worried, you've been asleep for almost a whole day"

"That temple was much harder than what I went through as a child" Link pointed out, holding a hand out for Navi to crawl into so he could sit up. "What happen while I was out?"

"Nothing much, the Sheikah cleared out the rest of the woods of the more dangerous monsters so all that's left is the more normal bunch that's always wondered there" Navi explained. "I think the Kikwis were escorted home and the Parella were informed their lake is safe again. The Minish seems the same as always but I'm sure they are trying to invent new flowers for the woods."

"...I couldn't even see any Minish" Link said, the whole time he had been in the Kokiri forest, he had not seen any of the tiny little begins that strived to make people happy.

"Well you're an adult now Link." Navi said. "Adults are unable to see the Minish" Link sighed softly, he had forgotten about that.

"Link, are you awake?" Sheik asked on the other side of the room's door, knocking on it gently.

"Yeah" Link said. The other blond boy opened the door and smiled at the rumbled looking Kokiri raised boy in the bed.

"How are you feeling?" Sheik asked.

"Still a little sore, but I think that will go away soon" Link said as he turned to sit on the edge of the bed, Navi taking flight again. The teen picked at the flowing looking shirt he was wearing that would have come down to mid thigh if he was standing up. "What am I wearing?"

"It's one of my sleep shirts, you clothing was covered in blood and needed to be cleaned and repaired." Sheik said. "They are in the cupboard there if you want to change. When you are done come downstairs, there is someone who wants to meet you" The Sheikah teen instructed then closed the door.

Link stood and walked over to the cupboard, like Sheik said his Kokiri style tunic, under shirt and pants were inside. To the side of the cupboard was the Master Sword, his shield, his quiver and his belt with the magic pouch attached. The teen quickly dressed and armed himself with his weapons then headed downstairs.

There he saw Impa, Sheik's mother and the leader of the Sheikah Tribe, standing by the table in the middle of the room. Also there was Sheik, a teenage boy a couple of years younger than him that must be Kain and a third teenage boy who had shoulder length blond hair and blue eyes. It was the third boy who noticed him first.

"Oh!" The boy said. "You must be the Hero of Time they keep tell me about"

"Link, this is Llyr" Impa said. "He is younger prince of Calatia and the true ruler of Hyrule" (1)

"True ruler? Calatia?" Link asked. Llyr laughed softly and motioned for Link to sit at the table.

"Allow me to try to explain. My father Lir was my late Uncle Dhanphos's younger brother, he married my mother who was the princess of Calatia, the land to the west of Hyrule." Llyr explained. "After Zelda's mother died, Father and Uncle Dhanphos agreed that I would be Hyrule's heir instead of Zelda as she doesn't process our bloodline's scared powers."

"Of course no one foresaw that Zelda would stage a takeover as she did" Impa said.

"No" Llyr agreed. "I've trained under my Father for years so I could join the effort to take back my kingdom. As much as I can anyway, Impa refuses to let me join in on the raids against Zelda's forces."

"It is too dangerous your majesty" Impa said firmly. "With her control over the other temples, Zelda is far too strong. So you must allow us and the Greudos to continue our work while Link awakens the sages"

"The Greudos? You mean Ganondorf?" Link asked as he turned to look up at Impa. "What happen to Ganondorf? Last time I saw him was when he left Hyrule Castle Town with you and Sheik right behind him"

"King Ganondorf and his people have done their part to fight against Zelda as well as keeping the agreement he arranged with King Dhanphos to protect Arbiter's Grounds and the entrance to the Desert of Doubt to protect the Scared Pyramid and the Zuna tribe." Impa said. "It would be very bad if Zelda got into either of those places, it's bad enough she has control over the Desert Temple"

"So Ganondorf is fine then" Link said, smiling as Impa nodded.

"I am sure you will see King Ganondorf soon" Impa said. She looked Link over with a critical eye. "You are not ready to journey to the next temple just yet, your body is still healing."

"But... but we need to awaken the next sage!" Navi said.

"If Link is not fully healed and rested he could make a mistake and get himself either killed or seriously injured" Impa said. "Hyrule has waited for 7 years for the Hero of Time, it can wait for its savior one more day" Navi sighed knowing that she wouldn't be wining this fight.

"Come on Hero, I'll show you around the village" Sheik said as he stood, motioning for Link to follow him.

"Wait for me!" Kain said as he ran off after the two older boys.

"So that is the legendary Hero of Time" Llyr said after a few minutes. "He isn't what I excepted. But I excepted a older knight not a boy my age"

"At 10 years old, Link broke curses cast on the Deku Tree, the Goron's Dodongo cave and the Zora's guardian deity" Impa said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I sense his potential even then. He is young but Link does have the spirit of the hero within him."

"Yes, I can sense it too" Llyr said after a moment. "The scared power of my family is weaker in the males of our bloodline but I still have some access to the Goddess's power. I can feel Farore and Hyila's blessing in him... I think you are right Impa, Link will save Hyrule from Zelda."

* * *

"Wow... I had no idea this was here" Link said as Sheik lead him around the forest Sheikah village. At some point they had lost Kain who had run off to speak to his friends.

"There are Sheikah villages all around Hyrule, so we can better protect both the land and the royal family" Sheik said. "Kakariko was our main hidden village, our grave yard is very important to our people, but after the Hyrule Civil War mother decided to open the village to outsiders."

"I didn't see any Sheikah there last time I was there" Link said.

"Zelda ordered her army to hunt us down and kill all remaining Sheikah" Sheik said as he sat down on top of a fence post. "So we had to flee the village to keep the Hylains and Humans who live there safe. She had no desire to kill them as long as they did not stand in her way."

"She never tried to attack the Kokiri Village did she?" Link asked.

"Zelda did send her soldiers into the woods a few times but the village remained hidden from them. Only the weak monsters ever entered, trainees like Kain traveled to your village everyday to clear out what they could" Sheik assured him. "And now that the Forest Sage is awakened and your new Deku Tree is growing, the woods are safe again"

"So I just need to awaken the next sage" Link said as he started to look around again. He tilted his head to the side, over the top of the trees to the south east he could see a large statue though he could not tell what it was ok. "What's that?" He asked pointing at the monument.

"It's a statue of the Goddess Hylia" Sheik said as he looked to where Link was pointing.

"Hylia? Like the lake?" The younger blond asked.

"The lake is named for her. Would you like to see it closer?" Sheik offered. Link nodded making Sheik smile as he hopped down from his seat and wrapped his arms around his friend, teleporting to the statue.

When they reappeared, they were at the base of the statue. Link looked up and had to take a step back.

"Wow, I didn't realize it was *this* big" He said. The statue was really old, there were vines and moss growing all over it. And there were places where the stone had crumbled, chipped or was worn smooth from the years and the weather. But the blond could still make out a winged woman with feathery looking hair. Link looked around then, they were inside some sort of pit, and behind them was a building that looked really old. "What is this place?" He asked, pushing at the door of the building. The door, old and weak, fell over with a crash.

"This use to be the temple of Hylia a long time ago" Sheik said as he followed Link into the old temple. "I don't know the whole story, you will have to ask one of the history keepers in the village."

"Do you know anything about it?" Navi asked, flying over to look at a tree growing off to the side.

"Only bits and pieces. There was a ancient evil sealed away outside and Hyila sent the Hylains to live in the sky." Sheik said. "Then one day the evil broke the seal and a hero came down from the sky with a sword. That sword was the Master Sword" He pointed to the blade on Link's back.

"Really?" Link said as he drew the Master Sword, holding it in front of him.

"Yes and this temple use to be the Master Sword's resting place for a time" Llyr said from behind the pair, causing the other two to turn to look at the prince. Kain stood behind Llyr waving, he had been the one to teleport Llyr over. "My ancestor was said to be the goddess Hylia reborn and her descendents were blessed with a golden scared power that only the females of our bloodline can fully use."

"The Sheikah were always loyal servants of Hylia, when she was reborn we followed her and her children." Sheik added. "And when they became the Royal family, we because their loyal servants and protectors"

"When the Castle and the Town around it was build a new Temple of Time was built as well" Llyr further explained. "The sages of the past moved the Master Sword from here to the new temple to act as one of the locks to the Scared Realm where the Triforce rested."

"Is all of that true?" Link asked.

"Well, parts of the tale might be fudged; it was a really long time ago" Llyr said as he walked around the temple. "But a lot of it is true. You've been close by here plenty of time Link, nearby is Lake Floira."

"It is? I had no idea this was here!" Link said as he placed the Master Sword back in its place and held his arms out around him as he tiled his head back looking at the temple that was overgrown with vines.

"It's very well hidden" Sheik said. "We keep it that way, both for the temple's protection and our village."

"I'm sure if Zelda could, she would destroy this place" Llyr said with a frown, gently touching wall of the temple. "My cousin is... so evil. She disgraces the name she was given"

"What does that mean?" Link asked.

"Zelda was said to be the name of Hylia's reborn form, the royal family often uses it to honor her" Sheik said.

"Come on, let s go back to the village" Sheik said. Link nodded and let Sheik teleport them back while Kain did the same with Llyr.

"Hey! You forgot me!" Navi yelled out into the empty temple. She huffed and flew out in the direction of the Sheikah village.

* * *

"I have news from Kakariko Village" A Sheikah male said as he came in to report to Impa. It was late in the evening, Link had spent the whole day with Sheik in the village, exploring it in wonder and trying to find out more history about the land of Hyrule.

"What is it?" Impa asked.

"The village itself is safe but there is strange activity on Death Mountain" The Sheikah said. "A squadron of soldiers marched through the village yesterday up to the Goron city then came back hours later. A check showed at the city is deserted of Gorons barring only two. The rest are missing, even their leader

"There have also been reports of strange activity coming from within the crater of the volcano" Impa hummed, tapping her fingers against her arm.

"This is troubling. What is Zelda up to?" Impa asked herself softly. "You are dismissed, report back quickly if anything changes or if you find out something more" The Sheikah bowed then teleported away. A little bit later when all the boys returned to her home, it was Link who noticed the look on her face.

"Did something happen?" He asked.

"Reports from Kakariko Village and Death Mountain" Impa said. "Soldiers were spotted in the village heading up to the Goron City and now the Gorons are missing"

"Death Mountain is where the next temple is correct?" Link asked, remembering the clues that Sheik gave him the other day. There weren t very many places within Hyrule that counted as a 'high mountain'. "I'll head there tomorrow and see what happen then" he offered.

"That is agreeable, hopefully it will not be too late" Impa said.

"If Zelda has done something to the Gorons, we will hear about it before she pulls whatever she has planed off" Llyr said. "She'll want people to watch. I think we will have plenty of warning if anything happens before Link leaves."

* * *

Early the next morning Link and Navi, who had managed to return to the Sheikah village late in the afternoon the day before, were ready to go. Link was given a healing potion in one of his bottles and dry food and water given to the blond.

Sheik wrapped his arms around Link, teleporting his friend to the edge of the forest where Epona was waiting for her rider.

"I will see you when you find the temple Hero" Sheik said. Link smiled and nodded, grasping Sheik's arm gently. The red eyed teen smiled in return, pulled up his face mask and teleported away.

"How are you doing Epona?" Link asked as he patted the side of Epona's neck. Epona nickered softly in greeting, holding still as the Hylain teen climbed onto her back. "Let s go" Link guided Epona out of the woods with his knees, kicking slightly with his heel to urge the mare into a gallop.

Link and Epona raced over the plains of Hyrule Field, the wind blowing in Link's strawberry blond hair. Navi clung to Link's tunic; the horse was running faster than she could fly. Death Mountain came into view as the sun reached the noon peak in the sky.

"That cloud looks even worse than it did the other day" Link said as he pulled Epona to a stop at the bottom of the stairs that lead to Kakariko Village.

"It's a sign, something evil is going on there" Navi said. Link nodded as his dismounted Epona and headed up to the village.

As Link passed through Kakariko, he could hear snippets of conversation from the people who lived there. They were talking about the soldiers who had marched by the day before. Link was worried and hoped that the Gorons were alright. No one paid much attention to Link as he ran toward the path that lead up the side of the mountain so no one stopped the blond boy and his fairy partner.

The path was empty as Link jogged up it, only a teketite or two could be seen. Nowhere was there any Gorons to be seen. There was something new on the path, giant boulders were rolling down the side of the mountain, some would smack against the mountain side and break apart before they reached the village while he witness others rolling into the Dodongo cavern and wondered how much damage the cavern had now.

"Hey!" Link stopped as the ground burst open and a giant mole like creature popped out of the ground. "You're not going up to that city in the volcano are you?" The Mogma, a wave of black hair sweeping over one eye, asked in a slightly nasally voice.

"Yes, that is where I am heading" Link said with a nod.

"Man, you don't want to go there!" The Mogma said, waving his arms. "There is some crazy stuff going on up there! That crazy blond girl who calls herself queen did some mumbo-jumbo up there, you don't want to mess with all that"

"I have too" Link said. "I can't leave the Gorons to whatever fate Zelda has for them"

"Well I think you're crazy" the Mogma said with a shake of his head. "But since you're set on going anyway, keep an eye out for my friends ya? They went up there to trade with the Gorons and they haven t come back yet"

"Umm sure, I can do that" Link promised. The Mogma muttered about crazy humans under his breath as he popped back underground and tunneled away. "What was that thing?" Link asked, looking up at Navi.

"I think that was a Mogma, they live on the fair side of the mountain" Navi said. "They like to dig for rupees, because they are very shiny"

"He was very skittish" Link said as he started back up the path again. The pair reached the entrance to the Goron city near the top of Death Mountain not to long after, Link carefully stepping into the large cavern. It was deadly quite inside the city, there wasn't Goron to be seen or a sound to be heard... expect one...

Link glanced over the edge of the pathway to the next level down in the city. There, rolling along the worn rock path, was a Goron curled up into a ball. It was much smaller than the Gorons he met seven years ago.

"Hey!" Link called, trying to get the small Goron's attention. The tiny rock person seemed to ignore him, or didn't hear over the rumbling noise its rolling around made. "How do we get its attention?" Link asked.

"Well I wouldn't suggest standing in front of it, you might get ran over" Navi said. "Hey... what about that Goron a few years ago that tried to roll down the mountain path with a bomb flower? He didn't seem hurt at all when it blew up, and neither did that Goron that was by Dodongo Cavern when you blew up the boulder that was blocking the entrance, I remember the bomb landing next to him.

"I guess we can try it" Link said, carefully stepping onto a wooden hanging above the path below. He watched the Goron to see what path it took and how fast it went. Once he was sure he had the Goron's routine down, Link took out and lit one of his bombs, dropping it just as the Goron passed under him. The bomb exploded loudly, knocking Link down off his perch.

"AGGRR!" The Goron yelled as he was knocked out of rolling.

"Ummff!" Link grunted in pain as he landed on the ground.

"How could you do this to me?!" The Goron asked, his voice muffled as he was still curled up into a ball. "You... you're Zelda's servant! Hear my name and tremble! I am Link! Hero of the Gorons!" Link pulled himself up off the ground as the small Goron spoke.

"Link is my name" Link said as he leaned down and gently laid a hand on the Goron's back. The Goron whos name was also Link made a surprise noise and uncurled form his ball, standing up to look at Hylain teen.

"What? Your name is also Link?" Goron-Link asked, shifting foot to foot excitedly. "Then... then you must be the legendary Dodongo Buster and Hero Link! My dad is Darunia, do you remember him?"

"Yes, I met him seven years ago, we became sworn brothers" Link said with a smile.

"Dad named me Link after you, because you're so brave" Goron-Link gushed happily. "It's a cool name, I really like it. Link, you're a hero of us Gorons! I'm so glad to meet you. Oh oh! Please give me your autograph!" Goron-Link started to pat down his form, looking for a pen and paper. "Sign it 'To my friend, Link of the Gorons'."

"Maybe later" Link said. "Where is everyone else?"

"Oh... I guess it's not a good time to ask you this" Goron-Link said, a worried look crossing the small Goron's face. "Please help everyone!"

"What happen?" Link asked.

"My-my dad, Darunia, went to the Fire Temple. There's a dragon inside!" Goron-Link wailed. "If we don't hurry up, even my dad will be eaten by the dragon!"

"Whoa, calm down Link" Link told Goron-Link. "What do you mean eaten by a dragon?" Goron-Link sniffed, rubbing the back of his hand against his nose.

"Come on, I'll show you" Goron-Link said, grabbing Link's arm and pulling the teen down to the bottom level of the city to a room with a large mural on the wall. "A long time ago there was an evil dragon named Volvagia living on this mountain. The dragon was very scary! He ate Gorons!" The mural showed a crude paint of a long red dragon on top of a pointy mountain that Link guessed should be Death Mountain. In the dragon's clutches were little Gorons, one of them held up to the dragon's mouth. Goron-Link pulled Link over to the next wall with a different painting.

"Using a huge hammer, the hero of the Gorons destroyed it. This is a myth from long ago, but it's true!" Goron-Link said. The mural showed a large Goron with a hammer hitting the dragon in the mural on the head. "I know, because me and my dad are descendants of the hero!"

"So where were the other Goron's taken?" Link asked.

"Everyone was taken to the Fire Temple" Goron-Link said as they walked back out to the central chamber. "While my dad was out, Zelda's soldiers came and took them all away! All of them will be eaten by Volvagia! Dad said that Zelda has revived Volvagia as a warning to those who might oppose her. Zelda is going to feed them all to Volvagia!"

"Where is Darunia anyway?" Link asked.

"Dad went to the Fire Temple all by himself to try to save everyone." Goron-Link told the blond. "Please help, Link!"

"I will, don't worry" Link assured the other Link.

"I wish I could help somehow... wait!" Goron-Link ran off over to a doorway Link knew lead to a shop. The little Goron returned a few minutes later, a red tunic in his hands. "Here, I'll give you this heat-resistant tunic!" He handed the tunic to Link who ran a hand over his new shirt. "It's made out of Dodongo hide, it'll absorb the heat in the volcano so you can survive in there. Without it you'll die from the heat."

"Thank you Link" Link said. "How do I get to the temple?"

"There's a tunnel that leads to the crater at the top of the volcano next to the Great Fairy's cave" Goron-Link explained. "But I know a quicker way. There's a secret passage in our rooms, just move the statue in the back!" Link nodded in understanding and moved into the room where he first met Darunia. Like Goron-Link said, there was a giant statue in the same of a Goron in the back of the room. He grabbed onto the rings that hung on the front and with a grunt he pulled the heavy statue out of the way. Once it was far enough out to slip behind, Link looked down the passage. A wave of heat hit Link in a face, taking his breath away as he stumbled back. The heat was even hotter and ticker than Dodongo Cavern.

"Whoa!" Navi said as she felt the heat herself. "Good thing you got that tunic"

"Yeah" Link agreed, removing his sword, shield and the belt around his waist. The green Kokiri styled tunic was removed and placed in his magic pouch then the red one put on instead. It was styled similar to his green one but made out of a thin red leather. The tunic even had a matching hat. After his weapons were returned to their rightful places Link stepped back into the passageway. The heat hit him again, breaking out in a sweat almost right away but at least he didn't feel like he was about to die now.

"Is it working?" Navi asked.

"Yeah... it's still hot but I think I can work through this heat" Link said with a nod.

"Good, let s get to that temple then" Navi said, leading the way down the passage way to the valcano crater.

* * *

"Whew... it's hot in here" Navi panted, wiping the sweat from her forehead. Link peeked over the edge of the ledge they were on, below was a lake of lava that he would hate to fall into since it would kill him. "There's a bride up ahead"

"Looks like it's broken" Link said as they walked up to it. Part of the bridge was collapsed, the ropes cut by the soldiers when they left the crater. Above the bridge was a wooden pole, perfect for him to use the hookshot on. The hook sunk deep into the pole, hooking into the wood and pulling Link across. He stumbled slightly as he dropped down onto the bridge, it swayed under his feet but it held steady. Half way across the bridge, Sheik dropped out of nowhere in front of the other blond.

"Sheik!" Link said in surprise as he stepped back. "How are you not burning up in here?"

"Sheikah uniforms are made out of Dodongo hide" Sheik said with a chuckle.

"You're here to teach me the next song right?" Link asked.

"Yes then I will stay out here to help the Gorons get across the bridge." Sheik said as he took the Goddess Harp out from a holding place behind his back. "You know it's something that grows over time, a true friendship"

"Like me and Saria... or you and me?" Link asked. Sheik smiled behind his face mask and nodded his head.

"A feeling in the heart that becomes even stronger over time" Sheik continued, gently strumming his harp. "The passion of a friendship will soon blossom into a righteous power and you will know which way to go through it. Now listen to this song dedicated to the power of the heart, the Bolero of Fire."

Sheik plucked off the notes of the song while Link closed his eyes as he listened to the song and felt the magic behind it. Once he was sure he had the notes down, he repeated them on the Ocarina of Time. Then, like before, Link and Sheik were playing a duet on ocarina and harp. If the Minuet of Forest felt like the cool, clam forest and of home then the Bolero of Fire felt like a passion of heat that surround Link and played in time with his heart it seemed. It reminded him of the steady growing friendship he and Sheik had growing between then and of the brother hood the Gorons always displayed with each other.

"ohhh" Link said as the song ended. "I wonder if that is going to happen every time you teach me one of those songs?" Sheik blinked in slight surprise.

"You feel the songs magic as well?" He asked. Link nodded as he put away the ocarina. "Very few Hylains can feel magic like that anymore. Your bloodline must have been strong."

"I wouldn't know" Link said with a shrug. "I only know what the Deku Tree told me and that was only that my Mother gave me to the Great Deku Tree to protect and raise."

"hmm" Sheik hummed. "Be careful Link" He said as the other blond passed him. Link smiled at him over his shoulder then headed toward the entrance of the Fire Temple which lead even deeper into the volcano.

* * *

Link finally reached the bottom of the ladder that lead to the temple. It was just as hot here as it had been in the open part of the volcano and the blond couldn't wait until he was done with this place as all he wanted to do was dive into a cool pool of water. He opened the door in front of him, entering the first true chamber of the temple looking around.

Unlike the Forest Temple, which had reminded him of a huge manor house, the Fire Temple looked a bit more like a temple. He could swear he could almost hear some sort of chanting in the background but it had to be a trick of the ear. (2)

In front of him, on top of a set of stairs, stood the familiar large form of the Goron Big Brother and leader Darunia.

"Darunia" Link called as he walked up to join his 'brother'.

"Err? Who's There?" Darunia asked as he turned, looking down at Link. The Goron's large purple eyes lit up after studying the young man for a moment. "Is that you, Link?"

"Yeah, it's me" Link said with a smile.

"Oh, it really is Link!" Darunia said with a booming laugh and a smile of his own. "You've grown so big since I last saw you!" The smile dropped from the Goron's face as he frowned. "I want to have a man-to-man talk with you, but now is not the time. Zelda is causing trouble on Death Mountain again! This time she has revived the evil, ancient dragon Volvagia! On top of that, she is going to feed both my people and the Mogmas to that evil dragon as a warning to the other races that might resist her."

"Yeah, your son told me. What do we need to do to stop the dragon?" Link asked.

"If that fire-breathing menace escapes from the mountain, all of Hyrule will become a burning wasteland so I will go on ahead to try and seal up the evil dragon" Darunia said, pointing to a door to the side of the room. "I'm concerned that I don't have the legendary hammer my ancestor used but I have no choice... Link. I am asked you to do this as my Swore Brother: while I am trying to deal with Volvagia, please save my people and the poor Mogmas that managed to get mixed up into this mess!"

"I will, don't worry" Link assured him with a nod.

"The prisoners' cells are in that direction" Darunia said, pointing to a door that was on the other side of the chamber across from the one that the gaint Goron was going through. "I am counting on you, Link!" Link watched his 'brother' leave the room through the first door then faced the second one.

"Well... time to save the Goron butts again" Navi said as they headed deeper into the temple.

* * *

The next room Link entered was huge, most of the ground was covered in lava with cropping of rocks and platforms that moved back and forth with bursts of flames. Link could see Fire Keese flying over head and every now and then a Fire Bubble would leap out of the lava, bouncing around before going back under. Across the middle of the chamber was a bridge that was missing a section in the middle. Parts of the wood was scorched from the Fire Bubbles bouncing off of it so many times.

Link crossed the bride, slicing a Bubble in half when it got to close and squinted through the heat haze at the door on the other side.

"It looks like it's locked" He said.

"well the key has got to be somewhere" Navi said. Link nodded and jumped down to the nearest out cropping of rock. He yelped as he slid on the crumbling dirt and rock to the lava surrounding it.

"Wow... this tunic really does the trick" Link said as he realized he was standing on top of the lava and wasn't hurt. He used this to quickly run to the side of the chamber where a door stood in an alcove. Above the alcove was a large blue block with an odd symbol that he had seen back in the Temple of Time. He had seen blocks like these before, in the Forest Temple. As Link entered the door, he noticed that the temperature dropped several degrees. It was still extremely warm, reminding him of the Dodongo Cavern. He stopped and listened for a moment, he could hear faint whimpers echo off the oddly green walls.

"Errr, would you stop that noise" A slightly naylzed voice bounced off the walls. "It's not helping anything" Link walked down the hallway, coming up on a cage at the end. Inside was a Goron curled up in a ball and a Mogma wearing blue overalls and blue hair swept back glaring at his cell mate. "Man you are so annoy... AH!" The Mogma yelped as he turned and saw Link standing on the other side of the bars.

"Are you two ok?" Link asked, kneeling so he was on level with the Mogma. The Mogma leaned back so he was balanced on his tail, arms crossed over his chest.

"You don't work for the crazy lady do ya?" The Mogma asked. "Cause if you do, 'm not gonna tell you nutin'"

"I don't work for Zelda" Link said with a shake of his head.

"We're working against her" Navi said as she flew past the bars and got into the Mogma's face. "We're trying to get you guys out"

"Why didn't you say so!" The Mogma yelled excitedly. "Those guard guys stepped on some sort of switch to lock the bars."

Link looked around, spotting a switch on the floor. Pressing a foot down on it, the bars of the cell clanked then rose into the ceiling. The Goron noticed the noise and looked up.

"Ohhh, are we free?" The Goron asked as he stood. He squinted as he looked at Link before smiling. "OH! Brother Link, it is you!"

"Have your reunion later big guy, let s get out of here!" The Mogma yelled as he took off down the hall way.

"Good luck Brother" The Goron said as he patted Link's shoulder then followed his cell mate. Link walked behind them and watched at the Mogma burrowed into the ground as soon as they were back into the large cavern while the Goron headed for the door at lead to the entrance.

"Well... that's one Goron and Mogma down" Navi said after they left. Link nodded as he dug out the Ocarina of Time, stepping back enough so he could see the block from before. He played the Song of Time, trigging a spell that had the block moved down next to him so Link could climb to the level above. There was another door there which Link entered. Like before, the temperature in the room dropped to a manageable warm level. "Link! Look out!"

Navi's warning came just in time for Link to bring his shield in front of him to block the flying piece of floor tile that had rose up and flew at him. Several more followed and Link grunted as each one hit, jarring his arms. After a minute or so the attack seemed to stop. Link peeked over the top of his shield, the room had a few spaces where the floor tiles had come from but no more seemed to be moving.

"Thanks Navi" Link said as he replaced his shield on his back. Link looked around the room, there didn't seem to be any prison cells within the room but he did find an odd Golden Skulltula on a wall. Link had run into the odd bugs before several times. Everything he killed one a golden skull shape token would be left behind. He didn't know what they were for though.

After Link killed the golden Skulltula he exited the room and headed back into the main cavern.

"Well, lets see what's on the other side" He said, running across the lava covered floor to the other side of the room. There he found a odd looking piece of wall. It looked like a doorway that had been bricked over. Link took out a bomb and lit it, moving far enough away so he wouldn't be hurt in the blast. The bomb blew up the wall revealing door behind it. Link opened the door and saw another cell with just a Goron inside. "Hey, get up" Link called softly, wrapping his hands around the bars.

"Please... don't eat me..." The Goron's muffled voice pleaded. Link sighed and look around, spotting a switch like before. Stepping on it, the bars rose up and alerted the Goron that he was free. "You... you're not going to eat me?" The Goron asked as he slowly stepped out of the cell.

"Of course not" Link assured him.

"Oh, Brother Link" The Goron said as he recognized the teen. "Thank you Brother. Here... I have something that might help you. I stole it from the guard" He held out a hand that had a sliver key in his palm.

"Thank you" Link said with a smile as he took the key. The Goron smiled and quickly walked off to get out of the Temple. Link looked down at the key in his hand then took off for the locked door he was before, he was now had the way forward.

* * *

Link panted heavily as he pressed up against a wall, he was currently in a large room that was made up of wide passages that had giant boulders not unlike the ones rolling down the side of Death Mountain currently. At first Link wondered how in the name of Din the boulders could roll around like they did, some even stopped and reversed their direction. It later occurred to him that it had to be some sort of spell, one he couldn't get rid of and had to live with the annoying boulders.

"Navi, fly up and see if you can find a way out of here" Link said, he was tired of almost getting crushed by rolling boulders. The only real break he had was when he found a false wall and let another Goron out. How he got out without being crushed was a mystery in its own.

"Alright" Navi flew straight up to look around the large chamber. "I see another cell with a Goron... some doors way above us we can't reach yet... yes! There is another door out of here!" The fairy flew back down to Link. "Just keep going straight in that direction, here is a door at the bottom of that large column over there" Link nodded to show he heard then peaked around the wall to see where the boulder was. It was currently rolling away from him so the blond elf took his chance and dashed down the passageways.

"Whoa!" He flatten himself against a wall as a boulder rolled by, the giant rock just missing his lean form by a few inches. "Too close" He muttered as he started running again. The door Navi pointed out was just ahead, leaping and rolling forward to avoid another boulder, coming to a stop at the door.

"You almost didn't make it" Navi said.

"I know, don't remind me" Link said as he opened the door. In front of him was a narrow walkway suspended over a large open shaft. Link peaked over the edge to see where the shaft lead too, he could see lava and part of a bridge below.

"Be careful" Navi said as she looked over as well.

"The walkway is wider than a rope or a tree limb" Link said as he carefully walked across it to the door on the other side.

* * *

Author Note: Like always, I like trying to blend the different games together so not only are the Mogmas, whom are my favorite race introduced in SS, included temple but I figured if the Sheikah had a village in the forest they would build it near the temple of their goddess.

Llyr is an original character who s taking Zelda s place as far as future ruler of Hyrule and the Sage of Time/Leader of the Sages goes but he does not have any pieces of the Tri-Force. As Zelda is adopted she doesn t have any of Hylia/the first Zelda s blood in her so the king had to make his nephew by his younger brother his heir.

Next chapter we finish up the fire temple!

(1) Calatia is a land introduced in the Legend of Zelda comics by Valiant Comics that was based off the cartoon. It was the home land of Link from the original game according to the comics but that isn't really canon. Calatia is more fanon thing but I've always gone with it since there's isn't any sort of back-story of for the Link from LOZ.

(2) In the original version of the Fire Temple background music there was chanting that supposedly had religious words in it. You can look it up on the net to see what they say the chanting meant. Later versions of the game had the chanting taken out.


End file.
